Rasemune
by Professor Curly
Summary: It starts out a fairly normal day, fighting off villains such as Mad Mod and Mumbo Jumbo. But when a shadow from Raven's past appears, what bad omens does it bring? What relation does it have to the 'Prophecy? FINISHED! READ AND REVIEW PLEASE!
1. Shadow Fall

1Chapter One: Shadow Fall

"I see you all came back for an encore performance!"

They really, really hated this guy. Oh Slade held a special place in their hate department yes, but this guy was possibly the most annoying villain they had faced.

"Oy! You little snots back for another lesson?"

Except of course for him.

They didn't know how. They didn't know why. But somehow two of their most persistent and annoying adversaries had teamed up.

To one side stood a green man in a suit and a rather large top hat.

To the other side was a man with red hair, glasses, and an annoying British accent.

Mad Mod and Mumbo Jumbo. They stood almost back to back, each holding their canes at the ready.

"Though I really appreciate you coming for another show..." Mumbo began, bowing.

"Now it's ta-ta Titans!" Mod finished with a smile, hitting the button on the top of his cane. Two giant robots made to look like British soldiers (Huge hat and all) appeared from no where, brandishing their rifles.

"Hocus Pocus!" Mumbo yelled with a wave of his arm. Two gloves appeared, and quickly grew till they were as big as the robots. They had two black spots about where eyes would be.

(You know, the gloves from when Mumbo sucked the Titans into his hat and the robots where Mad Mod turned Jump City into a black and white place with the British flag as a sky)

Finally one of the Titans broke their stunned silence, "Duuude! Not these guys again!"

"Titans, Go!"

Robin ran forward, tossing his exploding disks. Starfire fired her starbolts and flew towards them. Raven started chanting as a black aura surrounded her hands and she started using her powers to throw objects. Cyborg fired his sonic cannon. And finally Beast Boy turned into a Rhino and rammed strait into the fray.

The robots weren't even dented, and the gloves didn't even seem phased. One of the robots fired it's rifle, hitting Beast Boy before he could get to them, and the other fired at Cyborg, catching the half-machine off guard.

Meanwhile, Mad Mod had somehow produced a small table, and two chairs. He sat down, and procured two cups and a small pot, "Join me for a spot of tea chum?"

"Oh, don't mind if I do."

As the two sipped their tea, they watched the battle, "Those toys of yours are really quite impressive."

"British engineering, best in the world. Say, your glove things aren't to shabby either."

"Why thank you, I take great pride in my work."

"You know what chum, we should have done this a while ago."

"I agree. Sure we might have to share the credit, but it is so much better to be winning for once! I feel so happy I almost feel like singing! Maestro?"

A piano started to play from some dark corner of the room, and Mumbo stood up, walking into the battle. Mod grabbed his cane and followed.

(Underlined words are sung)

Mumbo blasted Robin with a torrent of water from the flower on his suit, and sang "It feels good to be on the winning team!"

Mod sang the next verse, "For the bad guys to win at last!"

"Being defeated for so very long,"

"Victory is such a blast!"

Then both of the super-villains sang together, "The bad guys win today!"

"Nothing any of you can do or say!"

"Steal all of the gold and get away!"

"While you are here to stay!"

Mad Mod tipped an imaginary hat as he and Mumbo walked out the front door, "Ta-ta you lot! Final grades are in, and you all fail!"

Mumbo hit a high not with, "Winning makes me feel so tipsy!"

Mod joined him as they walked down the street, "Steal all we want and get away scot free!"

"Now I'm singing about victory!"

They both sang the last line together, "We beat the Titans just you-and-me!"

Robin ran out, and jumped on his bike, doing a wheelie as he did a burn-out after the escaping villains. Cyborg ran out, him and Beast Boy getting into the T-Car, taking off after them as well.

Raven started levitating, saying, "Starfire, come on!"

However, the Tameranian princess was currently humming the song Mad Mod and Mumbo Jumbo had been singing. Raven sighed heavily, rolling her eyes, "Starfire!"

"Oh, sorry friend Raven!"

The two girls finally took off from the jewelry store and followed the rest of the team.

Back at the villain's armored car, Mod was driving insanely, driving on the completely wrong side of the road.

"Crazy Yanks! Learn to drive!" He yelled out the window (British people drive on the left side of the road, Americans drive on the right.)

Mumbo looked out the window, and saw that Robin was pursuing them. He turned back to Mod, saying, "Observe, nothing up my sleeves, nothing in my hat."

He held his hat out the window as Mod watched interested, and tapped it twice with his magic wand, "Mumbo, Jumbo!"

Suddenly bolts and rivets started flying out of the hat, both villains laughing insanely.

Robin watched in horror as all of the things holding his bike together started flying by his head. Finally, the wheels separated from the bike, the handle bars broke off, the engine whirled itself to destruction, and Robin found himself riding absolutely nothing. He closed his eyes and prepared for the shock of landing, when a strong arm grabbed him by the cape.

"It looks like you could use a hand." Cyborg said, hauling Robin into the T-car, pushing Beast Boy into the back seat so the boy wonder could sit up front.

"They trashed my bike!"

Cyborg, Robin, and Beast Boy all became extremely grim.

Beast Boy finally said, "Those monsters..."

"We'll get em back man."

"There are three things no one should ever mess with. My hair. My mask. And especially my bike! Titans, Go!"

"Going, going, gone!"

Cyborg hit a little red button, and huge booster engines popped out of the car. They gathered blue energy, then shot off at speeds that forced them back in their seats.

Mod and Mumbo looked out the windows to see what the noise behind them was. They saw the T-Car rapidly approaching with a huge blue light behind it.

"Uh-oh." Mumbo said, hanging his head.

"BO-YAAA!"

The T-Car collided with the villain's vehicle, sending it flying into the air, braking into many pieces. It started raining jewelry and money, as well as parts of the armored car. Finally, Mod and Mumbo landed on the pile, groaning.

"Nobody messes with my bike."

Instantly the two villains were on their feet, brushing off dust, "Kids these days, they just never learn!"

"Perhaps another demonstration is in order?" Mumbo suggested, pulling out his magic wand.

"Super,"

"Ultra,"

"Magical,"

"Cane attack of evil!"

The two villains cried, twirling their cane/magic wand expertly, then bringing them together to touch and complete the attack.

However, nothing happened. They looked above them, and saw Raven with a self satisfied grin on her face, and both of their canes hovering over their heads, surrounded by black auras.

Both of the villains caught their breath, their eyes growing wide and their pupils growing small.

"Now now my little ducky, don't do anything rash."

Raven used her powers to snap both wands in half, braking their powers.

"NOOOOOOOOOOO!"

Both villains in a flash of light turned into weak old guys, their power sapped. However, Mumbo grabbed his hat (Which was just as magical as the cane) and said, "I still have enough magic to get us away from here!"

Beast Boy, who had turned into a bug, turned back into his human form and snatched the hat away, "Not this time."

Robin advanced on them, and Mod straitened his glasses, putting on an uncomfortable smile, "Hello, gov'ner."

The Boy Wonder grabbed both of them by the collar, "You owe me a bike. I'll be sure to mention that on your criminal charges. I hope you have fun in prison!"

INSERT TEEN TITANS THEME SONG AND OPENING VIDEO HERE

At Titan's Tower there was a celebration going on. There was music, pizza, drinks, pizza, movies, and pizza. And some weird thing Starfire made that everyone was afraid to go near. Especially now that the alien princess had dissapeared somewhere without telling them what it was.

It was a great party, really. But Robin sighed as he looked around. As always, Raven was no where to be seen. He had a good idea where she was though, and made his way discreetly to the roof.

He almost fainted in shock when he got their. Raven was indeed levitating, as was normal. But there was also Starfire, doing the same thing.

"Friend Raven, why do you almost never participate in the celebrations of victory?"

"Because it never feels like we've won."

"But we defeated the Mumbo and the Mad Mod, and both have been sent to prison. Why does that not feel like victory?"

"Starfire, why are you up here? I know you want to go to the party."

"I wish you to partake in the unhealthy foods and the watching of the T-V as well. We would not have won if it had not been for you."

"You understand me better than the others, except for maybe Robin. You've had control of my body, my powers. You know that my emotions, happiness included, are dangerous."

"I wish I understood, truly I do, but I do not. I do not understand you at all..." Starfire admitted sadly.

"Join the club, honestly neither do I."

Starfire opened her eyes and smiled brightly, "A club! Please, how do I join? Do I acquire a cloak like yours?"

"Starfire, it was a figure of speech."

"Oh... Still, may I please have a garment to cover my face like yours?"

Raven opened her eyes and looked at Starfire, very confused, "Why?"

"Because, whenever I accompany you to your, er, rather depressing café 'hang-out' spot, I am always looked at rather strangely. And people always talk to me with some hostility. I thought perhaps dressing in something like you would um, make them stop."

Raven blushed, blowing up a random object in Beast Boys room, and told her, "Alright. But only if you take me shopping for clothes so that whenever you drag- I mean when I go with you to, uh, 'Pink World', people don't look at me like I'm a sickness."

Starfire's eyes got real big and sparkly, and her smile would have blinded someone glancing at the tower, "Yes friend Raven! We have a deal!"

"I don't wear pink, yellow, bright colors, or anything with flowers and/or furry creatures on it."

The alien princess's face fell, "Oh. Snugglewort." She said, sighing angrily.

Robin did faint at this. He fell down several flights of stairs as well. Raven, shopping for clothes, and Starfire going to a depressing café. It was too much for the boy wonder.

Both of the girls looked at the door curiously, "Friend Raven, what do you think that was?"

"I think someone just fell down the stairs."

They walked to the door to see who, when a voice from behind them said, "Well, well, well, isn't this a nice surprise princess."

Starfire turned instantly, eyes glowing and starbolts ready, "Who are you and what do you want?"

Raven had frozen, eyes wide.

"Silence girl, I do not wish to speak to you." The man said, snapping his fingers. Starfire's powers were dissipated, and she was flung against a wall.

"Now then, it's just you and me now princess. I'm curious, why isn't this world paradise yet? Have you found a way around your destiny?"

Raven turned around slowly, trying to swallow a lump in her throat.

"Oh well, it's of no matter. We can burn this world with or without you."

Raven looked up at the man, her breath catching in her throat.

He was tall, taller than Cyborg. He was clothed completely in black. His clothes were loose, and he had a cloak over it all, which billowed slightly. He was hovering effortless ten feet above the tower. Laughing he pulled back his hood.

The man's hair was brown, and his eyes were a solid red. No white in them at all. His face was pale, and skeletal, his smile demonic.

"Your voice, who are you?"

"You don't remember me? I'm hurt." He chuckled and bowed, "I am Mael Kirheinse, sorcerer in the court of Lord Trigon."

That name instantly found a place in Raven's past. She took a step back, knowing that she had no where near the power of this man.

Mael frowned, "However, since you have taken it upon yourself to try and refute your destiny, I believe you must be punished. I'll give you a choice. You're life..." He waved his hand, and Starfire was lifted by an unseen force, "Or her's."

Raven watched helplessly as Starfire was slowly crushed in his power. Starfire screamed, "Take me! Leave her out of this."

The sorceress felt his power slither around her like an evil python, tightening brutally. Raven looked, and saw to her horror as Starfire continued to suffer the same fate.

"Let her go! I told you to take me!"

Mael smiled sadistically, "No, I thought about and decided it would be much more satisfying to kill her and make you watch. After all, we can't loose our portal to this world now can we?"

Robin heard as Starfire screamed in pain, and it snapped him out of his faint. He looked around, then grabbed his communicator, "Cyborg, Beast Boy, Starfire and Raven are in trouble! The roof, now!"

Raven saw the edges of her vision start to turn black, and her breath became increasingly difficult to continue. She managed to finally put three words together.

"Azerath, Metreone, Zinthos!"

The black aura broke Mael's grip, and it traveled up his power and hit him. He released Starfire, but was otherwise un-phased by this sudden attack.

"Hmmm, I guess you do have something resembling power. But what should I have expected from Rasemune, daughter of the great Trigon."

"Titans, go!"

Robin burst out of the door to the roof, hurling exploding disks. These were stopped with a simple wave of the hand, and fell harmlessly to the ground. Cyborg busted through the ceiling, firing his sonic cannon madly. It bounced off an invisible shield, dissipating into nothing. Beast Boy was last, leaping at the new sorcerer as a Raptor (Dinosaur). The green changling was electrocuted for a few moments before he was thrown to the side.

"Foolish mortals. If you leave I might allow you to live out the rest of you short, pointless lives. This is between me and Rasemune here."

"My name is Raven!"

Mael chuckled and stopped the black whips that threatened to cut him to pieces, "Temper, temper princess. We can't have that, not when your meaningless emotions are in control of your powers."

Cyborg, Robin, and Starfire unleashed a simultaneous assault, using every projectile weapon they had. The explosions were deafening, and a thick haze formed from the smoke, blocking out their view of the sorcerer.

"Did you guys get him?" Beast Boy asked.

"Hahahahahahaha! Pathetic!"

Suddenly all of the energy, weapons, and power the Titan's had flung at the sorcerer shot back at them. Robin, Starfire, and Cyborg were hit hard. Beast Boy managed to get behind some cover, and Raven deflected the attacks with her power.

When the smoke cleared, Mael still hovered there, arms crossed and smirking, "I never knew tormenting humans could be so fun. Maybe that's why Trigon finds such succulent enjoyment in it."

Raven set her jaw and levitated to his level, "This is between you and me, leave them out of it."

"Between you and me, indeed. Perhaps it is. Yes, I think this will do nicely," He uncrossed his arms and glared at her, "Besides it's time someone put you in your place you little spoiled brat!"

"Azerath Metreone Zinthos!"

"Alak Zam Tah!"

The power of the spells met in between them, with a burst of darkness. All of the light was being sucked into the area where the two shadow beams were meeting. Which was slowly beginning to shift towards Raven.

"Are you still using those infernal words? Have you not become ready for more powerful ones?"

Raven grimaced and put more power behind the spell, trying to force Mael back, to no avail. The red eyed sorcerer laughed insanely, "I'll never know why your father believed you could actually fulfill that prophecy. He should have killed you just like he killed your mother."

The sorcerer didn't know how much of a nerve that would strike. The sorceress's power turned red, and it pushed back his as if it were nothing at all. Mael was flung back, and he fell the few stories to the ground.

Raven smiled sadistically, her entire body surrounded with red, until she closed her eyes and held her head with her arms, "Get back in your place!"

She slowly started to fall to the roof of the tower, settling softly on her knees, desperately trying to bring her emotions back under control before she killed someone.

Until a black portal appeared in front of her, and a smirking face rising out of it. Then a body, legs, until before her stood Mael, towering in his height above her kneeling form.

"So young and pretty, but oh so fragile. Still, I think I see why your father finds so much enjoyment from enslaving you pitiful creatures. However, now it has come to an end. Your father will praise me for ending such a worthless life."

He put his bony hand her chin, bring her face up to look at him. He held his hand in the air, and a sword of total darkness formed. He held it at the ready, saying, "Bless the blade that slays you."

Cliffhanger!


	2. Family Reunion

1Chapter Two: Family Reunion

Raven closed her eyes tightly, knowing that her powers were uncontrollable at best, and for the moment could be considered non-existent. She knew what was coming even before he spoke.

"Bless the blade that slays you."

She heard him laugh evilly, and could sense his movement. So this was how she was going to meet her end, at the hands of a phantom from her past she could barely remember.

However, the blow never came. She heard a roar, and felt something fly over her. A thud, a cry of surprise, and then nothing. She opened her eyes, and saw something she had hoped she would never see again.

It was huge, and furry. Somewhat resembling a humanoid cross between a wolf and a bear. It's roar was echoing, and haunting.

Beast Boy.

It was the form he had taken... When his anger, his animal instincts had taken over. The form that had both nearly killed and saved the dark sorceress.

Mael managed to give out a cry of surprise before both he and the now-angered changling toppled off the roof. Beast Boy slashed at him viciously with his claws, and the sorcerer was so shocked he couldn't fight back, not even when the monster's jaw clamped down on his shoulder.

If he was human, every bone in his body would have shattered under the force of hitting the ground. But he was far from human. He looked at the new monster in a mixture of confusion and rage, "What are you?"

However, as the thing continued to tear at his cloak and body, he sighed, "No matter, it's time I beat some sense into you. You'd make a good pet! Keal Sin Bal!"

Beast Boy was flung off, black tendrils jumping around his monster body like electricity. However, much to Mael's amusement, he got up almost emmediatly, and charged again, emitting a deafening howl of challenge.

This just amused Mael further, and he stopped Beast Boy in mid lunge, holding him in the air. He smirked, "Hmmm, what to do with you. Ah, I think I know."

He commenced to take Beast Boy, and slam him hard into every semi-solid object in the area, again and again, the force of it growing each time. Finally, Beast Boy managed to grab a rock off the ground, and throw it at Mael, catching him in the face and knocking him down. Taking the chance, he leapt onto the fallen sorcerer. He slammed his heavy fists into the fallen body mercilessly, again and again. Until he was lifted once again by the man's magical powers.

Mael stood up, eyes burning with hatred, "Now you die!"

He slammed Beast Boy's head into the ground repeatedly, hard and in rapid succession. The sound was almost pendulum-like in it's regularity. Slowly the changling started to turn into his normal self. His body was limp, his eyes closed and face blank. Mael forced him into the ground, slowly crushing him, like a bug.

Raven looked to the others, who were still unconscious from the previous attack on them. Then she looked back to Mael in horror, "You're going to kill him!"

The sorcerer looked up at Raven with a smirk, "No princess, did it ever strike you that might possibly be the point?"

Finally, as if bored, he tossed the green changling to the side. He rolled down the hill, onto a rock. He wasn't moving.

Satisfied, Mael levitated back up to Raven, "Well then, now it really is just you and me isn't it? You're pitiful allies are either dead or dying. I think I should send you to join them, so you can face the black of death together. Would you like that Princess Rasemune?"

"My name is Raven!" She yelled, lashing out in her fury. The spell simply bounced off with no effect.

"A rose by any other name is still a rose. The same goes for a demon. As well as a half-demon. Not that it matters what your name is when you die. I doubt your father will care if I kill you now."

He sent a bolt of power that literally ripped the air as it traveled for the stricken sorceress. However, before it hit another cloaked figure appeared, stopping it.

"But I care."

Mael narrowed his eyes, and his voice dripped in hatred, "You!"

"Yes, me. Now I'm giving you one chance Kirheinse, leave."

Mael actually stepped back, as the aura flowed over him. Familiar, and yet different. He could tell what it was a mile away, "Oh Einderan you poor diluted fool. You may defeat me, you may even kill me. But you will never win this little 'revolution' of your's. Give up, your father is willing to forgive you if you return."

Raven looked at the two in confusion. The face of this new man was covered in a black cloak, but the voice sounded so familiar! Why couldn't she remember?

"Ha, yes. I'm going to fall for that one again. Last time I found my heart almost being ripped out by, hmmm, who was it now... Oh yes, it was you."

There was no hidden threat in that last sentence. It was clear, and very, very sharp. Raven started to back away from them as she felt the power growing.

"Not even you can stop Trigon's arrival! This world will fall just like all the others!"

"It doesn't matter how many worlds you enslave, or how many people you kill, we will stop you."

Mael shot a ball of black energy at the new figure, but it stopped in mid-air. The figure told Mael, "Give this message to 'king' Trigon. His days are numbered. I'm going to send him back where he belongs!"

With that, the figure sent the energy back at Mael, after charging with some of his own. It hit the evil sorcerer, knocking him back. He gave an unearthly scream, and dissapeared.

Raven looked up at the new figure, who's face was still hidden in shadow. His voice was so familiar, but from where?

"Are you alright?"

"I-I'm fine, my friends..."

The figure looked down where Raven directed, and saw the motionless changling. He nodded and lifted the small form up gently, raising him up to the tower with his powers. He gently laid Beast Boy down. Raven started to cry at what she saw.

He wasn't moving, and his face was a bloody mess. His uniform had been ripped, and his arm was bent at a very awkward angle.

"Beast Boy..."

The figure kneeled down and put his hand on the small changling's forehead, "You're friend is still alive, but only just. He needs healing, quickly."

Robin, Starfire, and Cyborg started groaning, and looked around dazed. They didn't know what had hit them, but it had hurt bad.

Robin spoke first, "Raven? Who is this- What happened to Beast Boy?"

"He needs help, please we have to take him to the infirmary."

Cyborg picked up the broken, green body and carried it into the tower, "Already on it Rae. Starfire, I'll need some help."

"Right."

The two hurried with their fallen comrade into the tower, leaving Robin, Raven, and the still concealed man alone. Raven stood up, finally bringing her emotions somewhat under control, "Who are you?"

The man went down on one knee, and took her hand. She could hear the panic in his voice, "Please, forgive me. I didn't want to come here, but we had no where else to go. I'm sorry I had to drag you into this. We need your help."

"My help? What could I do for someone with your power?"

"I am the leader of a group of resistance fighters against Trigon the Terrible. We were hiding on another world, when his soldiers attacked. We weren't prepared, and had to abandon it. We suffered many injuries, and losses... Our supplies are almost gone, we need food, water, and shelter for my soldiers and refugees."

Robin walked up to him, "How many are we talking?"

"About a hundred soldiers, and some thousand refugees. Please, we have no where else to turn."

"I'll have to make some calls, but I'm sure that we will be able to provide what you need."

"Thank you. I'm in your debt. Thank you so much..." The relief in his voice was enhanced by the growing of black auras around some pieces of rubble on the roof of the tower, but they were dissipated before anything bad could happen. Robin walked off to make some emergency calls.

The cloaked man stood up, and as if on cue another, shorter cloaked figure appeared beside him. He told it, "Bring the worst wounded here. The rest will have to make due where they are. Tell them that we are welcome here."

The new figure bowed, and teleported away. Raven finally managed to ask again, "Please, your voice is so familiar. Who are you?"

The cloaked figure turned to face away from Raven, pulling his hood back. His hair was dark brown, and shortish in length. He told her, "I suppose it has a been a while since Azarath. But surely you remember..." He turned, revealing eyes the same color as Raven's, and sporting a similar jewel on his forehead, but his was blue. His face resembled Raven's in a way, "Your big brother."

Raven blinked a few times, before smiling and throwing herself at him, "Einderan!"

He hugged her back, "It's nice to see you well sister. I'm sorry I had to bring this upon you."

"Bring what?"

He sighed and stepped back. His eyes were deadly serious, "The war. My war. My revolt against our father."

"But how can you stand against him?"

"I have about one hundred soldiers, men and women from various worlds both already enslaved and those who are sympathetic to our cause. Many of them came from Azarath, a few from Mystell, and a few others. About a third of them are half-demon, like us. The rest are human spellcasters. The demon armies of our father have never faced an enemy as dead set, determined, or as well prepared as we are. But they caught us off guard, during a celebration, the day of our first victory against them. We drove them back, and managed to escape. But as the presence of that dog Kirheinse suggests, we were followed."

A question nagged in the back of Raven's mind, "The refugees, are any of them from Azarath?"

"Quite a few."

"Please, is my mother?"

Einderan sighed and placed a hand on her shoulder, "Raven, I'm sorry. You're mother didn't make it. Trigon killed her with his own hands, right in front of me."

Tears threatened to overtake Raven again, but she fought them back, "So Mael was telling the truth."

"Forgive me, I wasn't able to stop him..." Einderan said, hanging his head slightly.

Raven shook her head and smiled, "I always knew deep down, but I hoped I was wrong."

"Hope, it betrays us all at some point."

Suddenly Raven's communicator went off, and Cyborg yelled into it, "Yo Raven! Beast Boy is banged up real bad! I can't do anything, we need you to pull some of that healing stuff you do!"

The young sorceress's eyes went wide a moment, and she exclaimed, "I forgot about him! Oh no, I might not be able to help now..."

Raven ran down to the infirmary, her brother right behind. When they got there, Raven stopped dead in her tracks.

Beast Boy looked worse. His face was swelling, his cuts staining the bandages that covered them. His arm was in a cast, and his heartbeat was erratic. After overcoming the shock of seeing her friend in such a state, she hurried over and began to use her magic to heal what wounds she could.

She grimaced in the effort, as her emotions were still battling for control. She was still in charge of her powers, but only just. Raven closed her eyes to try and fight back tears, but couldn't. They started slipping down her cheek, "I can't stop it, there's to much damage for me to repair."

Einderan walked over, throwing his cloak to the side so it wouldn't get in his way. He put his hand over Ravens, "I'll deal with his major injuries, you just fix what you can."

Raven looked up at him, then nodded. Her hands glowed with a white light as she started repairing the changeling's cuts and swelling.

Einderan closed his eyes, and started doing the same, but his hands glowed an extremely light blue. He passed the light back and forth over Beast Boy's head and chest, healing the damage done inside of the body.

Cyborg watched in amazement as Beast Boy's vital signs started to strengthen, and stabilize. His wounds started to close, and his swelling went down. His bone's healed, and after what seemed like only a few minutes Beast Boy looked like himself again.

Einderan sighed, and said, "Now for the spark of life."

He snapped his fingers, and a small, white light flicked down onto Beast Boy. When it touched him, his body was covered in a brief surge of bright light. Then his eyes slowly flickered open, "Where, where am I?"

Raven's entire face lit up, and she hugged Beast Boy tightly. Starfire and Cyborg's jaws dropped right to the floor. Beast Boy was frozen in shock.

Black auras started creeping up around various expensive looking pieces of equipment in the room. Einderan looked around, and started dispelling them with waves of his hand and snaps of his fingers. Finally after about five seconds of this, Einderan told her, "Raven, calm yourself. I'm going to miss one of these eventually."

She jumped back as if just discovering Beast Boy was on fire, trying desperately to conceal the growing red in her face, "Sorry, I just thought that he wasn't going to..."

Beast Boy eyed her curiously, "Thought I wasn't going to what?"

"Live." Einderan explained almost casually. Beast Boy's face paled, his body going rigid.

"No! I'm to young and handsome to die!"

Einderan flinched at the volume and pitch of the changeling's voice, "You're fine now, and don't do that again."

Beast Boy started rubbing the back of his head in embarrassment, "Oh, sorry. Hehe..."

Meanwhile, Robin had called his old mentor Batman. The dark knight of Gotham actually seemed pleased to hear from his old partner, "Hello Robin. How are things in Jump City?"

"Batman, I need help."

"With what? What's wrong?"

"Have you ever heard of something called Trigon?"

"Trigon, a powerful demon, supposedly only five below Lucifer. Also known as Trigon the Terrible, Trigon the Enslaver, and Trigon, the Ender of Worlds."

"Good, that will make this easier..."

Robin commenced to give his former teacher an overview of the past events. The return of the new invincible Slade, the marks on Raven's body, the 'Prophecy' foretelling the end of the world, everything. Batman listened carefully, knowing full well that the boy wonder wouldn't lie to him.

When he finished, Batman was silent for a long time. Then he said, "You should have told me about this sooner."

"I know, I know, but I thought that we could handle it-"

"This isn't a game! We aren't talking about the fate of Jump City, we're talking about the fate of the world Robin! Did it ever occur to you that I might like to know about a prophecy saying the world will end, and it starting to come true?"

"I know darn it! I messed up, and I'm sorry."

Batman sighed, "It's alright, I trained you to be too much like me. Now then, what exactly do you need my help with?"

"So far we don't know how to stop this prophecy from coming true. If you and the Justice League could try and look into that, I would appreciate it greatly. However, we have a more pressing problem."

"A more pressing problem?"

"Yes. A few minutes ago a man named Mael Kirheinse attacked the tower. He nearly killed us, and he did it with ease... but that's not the point. We were saved by a man, who claims to be the leader of a resistance coalition against Trigon. Apparently he and his people were ambushed by Trigon's forces, and only just managed to escape here. I need help providing food, shelter, water, and medical assistance for several thousand refugees."

"Several thousand? Robin, do you know what we're talking about?"

"Oh shut up 'Bruce'," He said, only mouthing the word 'Bruce', not actually saying it, "We both know that you have the money and resources. Besides, it's for the fate of the world."

Batman smiled. He was going to do it, Robin knew that he would. The dark knight wasn't a cruel person. It was something of a test, "Alright 'Grayson'," Batman said, mouthing the name similarly, "But I'm not sure how long this will take."

"I understand, I'll tell him."

"One question. Do you trust this man?"

"He saved us Batman, I don't have much else to go on. If this is a trick, then it really makes no difference than if he had never showed up at all."

"True. I'll contact you later, ending the transmission."

"Right. Goodbye."

Robin turned from the monitor, and almost ran into someone. He stepped back in surprise, drawing his staff, but found that it wasn't necessary.

It was a girl, with long silver hair and strikingly sharp, green eyes. She was a little shorter than Robin, and actually didn't looked a few years younger. Yet he could see experience in those emerald orbs. She wore clothing similar to Raven, but this new girl's was light gray, and her cloak had a diagonal streak of green on each side of it.

She jumped back, almost as startled as he was. A cushion on the couch exploded into a cloud of... whatever they put in couch cushions.

"Oh, forgive me." She said quickly, her voice both high pitched and soft.

"It's ok, I should be used to it by now. Wait, how did you get here?"

"I came through a portal, how else?" She explained, as if it were the most obvious question in the world. She held the same neutrality as Raven without the sarcasm.

Suddenly more people, in mostly black cloaks, appeared about the living room, through the black shadow portals. Some were laying on their backs, motionless, being carried by others. Some were giving off cries of pain. The rest were running back and forth, healing and trying to find places for the wounded to stay.

The girl turned to Robin, her voice now extremely hard and cold, "We need rooms to place these people in."

"We don't have many spare rooms, there are a few open for guests. Wait, there is the training level. It doesn't have separate rooms, but it is large, and most of the stuff can be cleared out. There are also training mats to lay them on. Will that work?"

"Perhaps, show me. Freya! You and Biggs come with me."

Two people, a boy and a girl obediently came forward, and Robin lead them to the training area. The spellcasters used their power's to move the heavy equipment to the side, and quickly spread out the mats on the floor. The girl in the white cloak sighed and nodded, "This will have to do for now. Biggs, go tell the others to bring the wounded here. You, is there any more room?"

Robin thought a minute, "The hanger, but honestly it's not really fit for anyone to live in. There's nothing for them to lay on, and is pretty dirty."

"We aren't looking for a place fit to live in. We're looking for a place to survive in. Freya, stay here and help with what you can. You, take me to this 'hanger'."

Robin obliged quickly, striding to the elevator once more. One the way down, it was silent, until he told her, "By the way, my name's Robin."

"My name is Frista."

The elevator stopped, and they got out. Frista looked around the hanger, sighing, "Again, this will have to do. Stand back."

Robin did so, and she stuck out her hands, which glowed gray. Instantly a wind swept through the room, picking up all the dust and stray liquids, as well as any other thing that Frista deemed unwanted. Robin hit a button, letting the doors slide open, and everything was blown outside. The girl nodded, then told him, "Thank you."

"No problem. Should I go and get your friends and tell them to start bringing people down?"

"I don't think so. Hopefully your training area will be enough. We will only bring the wounded down here if we absolutely have to."

It was a hectic night. Robin, Cyborg, Starfire, Raven, and Beast Boy were all scurrying back and forth at the command of the healers. Fetching food, water, blankets, everything they could find. It must have been four or five o'clock in the morning when everything was in some semblance of order.

Robin sank down on the couch. Honestly there was really no other place to sit. The emotions of some of the mages had gotten a little out of control, and while most of it was dispelled by the tending spellcasters, some of the furniture and equipment had been hit.

Cyborg and Starfire came up and sat down as well. The tall half-robot was tired, driving back and forth for supplies. It had been a long night.

"So man, what do we do now?"

"We wait. There isn't much else we can do." Robin told Cyborg, sinking further down onto the couch.

"I agree. I wish there was more that we could do to be of service..."

"It can't be helped Star. Besides, these guys seem to know what they're doing." Cyborg told her.

A portal opened in the floor, and Frista's top half appeared through it. She looked very angry, and motioned with her hands. Suddenly with a scream Beast Boy flew up through the portal, flailing his arms and legs.

"And keep him away from the injured ones! Hmph..."

With that, she went back through the portal. They all stared at Beast Boy disapprovingly. He looked up at them.

"What?"

"Alright BB, spill it. What did you do?" Cyborg asked.

"I was just trying to cheer them up!"

"And causing mass destruction while you were at it."

They turned to see Raven and Einderan walking towards them. Raven explained further, "Beast Boy was telling jokes and being an idiot. He made them laugh, and it was all that we could do to keep the Tower from exploding."

"So that's what that was." Mused Robin, "I thought it was an earth quake..."

Raven sat down also. All of the Titans were now staring at Einderan, who sighed and walked over and sat on the table in front of the couch, "Alright, I'll answer any questions you want now."

"First off, who are you?" Robin asked.

"Oh right, I never really introduced myself did I? My name is Einderan, leader of the resistance against Trigon as you know."

"You were speaking as if you knew Raven. Why?"

Raven answered that one, "He does. Einderan is my brother."

The Titans were absolutely boggled by this. Beast Boy was first to speak, "Alright miss mystery girl, since when do you have a brother? And why didn't you care to mention it to us?"

"Um, since before I was born. And you never asked if I had a brother."

"But still!"

"You didn't know Starfire had a sister until Blackfire showed up." Raven pointed out.

"That is true. Please, brother of Raven, who was that man that attacked us earlier?" Starfire asked.

Einderan gritted his teeth, and clenched his fists, "Mael Kirheinse, as he told you. An ambitious Lieutenant in the service of Trigon. Also a coward. Sorry I didn't get here sooner."

"S'alright man." Cyborg said, "I'm just glad you showed up."

"Something that's been bothering me. That Mael guy beat all of us, Raven included, at pretty much the same time. How is it you beat him off?" Robin asked.

"What do you mean?"

"You're powers are similar to Raven's, and yet you have more than all of our powers combined?"

"Ah that, yes. Well, I'm older you see."

"By what? Two, three, four years at most?"

"I doubt it. I don't really know how old I am."

"Wait, hold up." Cyborg exclaimed, "How can you not know how old you are?"

"Well..."

Raven decided to explain again, "Einderan was found by my mother a little before I was born. He has some sort of amnesia. And no one is in any real position to tell how old he is because he hasn't aged a day since I saw him last."

"So, you two aren't really brother and sister?"

"Yes we are." Einderan said simply.

"How do you know for sure?"

He put a hand over his heart, "Trigon's blood flows through my veins. Of that I am certain. And he just doesn't call anyone 'my dear son'. I think I was born on Azarath like Raven, but to a different mother. Then something happened to her, and I lost my memories of it..."

"Can't you just use one of those magic mirror thingys to go into your mind and find the memories?" Beast Boy asked.

"Of course. But that would require I delve into my sub-conscious. Let's just say it would be a few thousand years at least before I got back out. If I got back out at all. And how do you know about the meditation mirrors?"

"Oh, uh, I kinda started looking around Raven's room once, and I found this mirror. So I picked it up, and it kinda sent me and Cy into her mind."

Einderan glared at him for a long time. Beast Boy thought he would be crushed under that fierce gaze.

"That actually brakes about seven different laws you know, accident or not."

Raven stopped him, "Hold on Einderan. They saved my life while doing it, because my rage got loose..."

Einderan nodded slowly. That made sense.

"Alright, now I have three technical questions. One, how long do you plan on staying?" Robin said, deciding to cut to the chase.

"That depends, at least until our wounded are healed."

"Fair enough. Two, how powerful is your force?"

"Together, at full strength, incredibly powerful."

"Now third, how strong is the force that you said was chasing you."

Einderan's face fell, "I hope to lead them away before they arrive. It is a force of 1,000 demon soldiers, each about half as powerful as Mael. Plus 50 lieutenants, each approximately Mael's power. And finally I'm sure they have a General, who is almost to my level."

"Almost?"

"Almost. I have defeated him before, one on one. But if they bring that entire army against us, we do not have the power to stop it. Not after that ambush. That's why I said I was sorry I brought this war upon you."

They sat in silence for a while, until finally Cyborg asked, "How long do you think it will take them to track you down?"

"That depends really."

"On what?"

"On how ambitious Mael Kirheinse really is. It is standard procedure to send a single scout to every planet that a retreating force could escape to. One. Now that Mael knows of our presence, normally he would report back to the army. If that happens, I give it a few of your days for them to gather the army and prepare the energy for a portal massive enough to allow them to come through at the same time. However, if the little rat is as power hungry as I think he is, he will try to defeat and/or capture us on his own. If that's the case, it could be months, even years before the army figures out where we are, or even where he is."

"What? But wouldn't the scouts report back they didn't find anything?"

"No. A demon scout doesn't report back unless they have found the enemy. They search the surrounding worlds, then if there is no trace, they search the worlds around that. And then the next set of worlds. And the next, and the next, until they find the enemy."

"Sounds a bit ineffective."

Einderan shook his head, and looked at the floor, "No, it's quite effective. They follow every trace, every clue, everything. They don't stop, they don't rest, they do not miss anything. They are like blood hounds. They will hunt you, and hunt you, and hunt you until they find you, dead or alive. Mael is proof of that. He was looking for us, when he found Raven."

Suddenly, the sun crested over the horizon, spilling light into the tower. Robin sighed, "I think it's time we rested for a while, don't you?"

DEEP IN AN UNDERGROUND CHAMBER

"Hello?"

Silence. Mael frowned, "I know you're here."

"Who are you? And how did you find this place?" A voice asked from the darkness.

"I am Mael Kirheinse, Lieutenant of the Ender of Worlds, Lord Trigon the Great."

"Are you now. Well, what would you be doing here pray tell?"

"I am hunting a group of refugees. Rebels as it were. Enemies of Lord Trigon who try to resist his rule."

A small chuckle echoed about the room, "Are you talking about the Teen Titans?"

"Hmph, hardly. If those are the ones who surround Princess Rasemune, they barely rank on the scale of enemies to Trigon."

"Rasemune?"

"Apparently she is also called Raven on this world."

"Ah, dear Raven. She tries to resist her destiny, but she will serve her purpose, whether she likes it or not. Yes, they were the Teen Titans. But if they weren't who you were speaking of, who was it?

"His name is Einderan, the leader of a resistance movement. Actually it would be Prince Einderan. The son of Trigon."

"And what would he be doing leading the resistance I wonder?"

"Pitiful human emotions corrupted him."

"Ah I see. Well, I can sense that you are in the service of my master. I take it you wish my help in apprehending these rebels?"

"Or killing them, yes. You will receive due credit for your help."

A ring of fire appeared, revealing the figure in the dark. His armor was black and gray. His mask was half completely black, and orange on the other half, with small slits for the mouth. Only the orange side of the mask had a hole from which an eye looked. And on his forehead was a burning symbol, an 'S' with a dot at the top and in the middle.

"My name is Slade. I am at your disposal Lieutenant."


	3. Rasemune

1Chapter Three: Rasemune

Raven watched from a corner as her brother walked among the injured, kneeling down by some and whispering to them. Sometimes they whispered back. Other times they simply nodded. Finally, he walked out of the room.

"How bad is it?" Raven asked.

"All of the ones here should live. Frista is very good at this, even if she is only fourteen. Her and the others, they do their jobs well."

"How many did you lose?"

"... Fifty fell in the initial attack. Another thirty died holding the demons off so the rest of us could escape. A great number died of their wounds before we got here. In all, two thirds of us are dead."

"My God... So many people..."

Einderan walked a few steps down the corridor, then slammed his fist into the wall. His hand was covered in a black aura, and the wall cracked heavily under the blow.

"They trusted me. They believed I would lead them to the liberation of their homes. And I failed them..."

"Einderan..." Raven said, trying to sound soothing, but couldn't find the words to follow it.

"No one thinks that sir."

Both of them turned to see Frista approaching. She stopped beside Raven, "No one thinks that you failed anyone. You fought as hard and bravely as any of us. They caught all of us off guard, not just you. We weren't celebrating because of any arrogance from you, but because we needed to know that we could and still can win. You betrayed no one's trust."

"I should have seen that attack coming. I allowed us to open our gates wide for the enemy."

"We should have seen that attack coming. We allowed ourselves to open our gates wide for the enemy. This isn't your fault sir. If you wish to blame someone blame Trigon, he is the one who is doing this. This is his fault."

"Maybe. But why do I feel like I could've done more?" Einderan asked himself, sighing. He teleported somewhere else.

Raven turned to Frista, "He seems so different..."

"He was happy to have us safe earlier. Now he thinks that it's his fault for not anticipating the attack."

Frista then thought about and looked at the blue cloaked sorceress, "Raven?"

It hit Raven at that same time. She looked at the girl in light gray, "Frista?"

They smiled at each other. Frista hugged Raven, "I didn't recognize you!"

"I didn't recognize you either." Raven replied, taking a step back, "My brother said Frista, but I didn't think it was you."

"It's good to see you Raven."

This troubled Raven, "Y-you are? Even after..."

"Trigon?"

Raven nodded sadly.

"It's not your fault. You have no control over who you're father is. We were friends when we were little, we are friends now. Right?"

"Frista... Thank you."

"I've done nothing. Come on, I'm done with my shift."

They walked together, then teleported to the living area of the Tower, which had been converted into a sort of cafeteria. They walked up to the counter, and Raven poured them both a cup of herbal tea. They sat down on the couch, sipping their drinks.

"So... What happened after I left?"

Frista looked down into the swirling liquid in her cup, "Azarath was razed to the ground. And in the middle of it all stood Trigon, laughing. It..."

She broke off for a minute to get her emotions in check, "It wasn't good for us. Any of us, men, women, children, the elders... It didn't matter. The demons started rounding us up. I was scared." She took another sip of her drink, "Everyone was scared. Then we saw something to give us hope again."

"What?"

"Einderan." Frista told her, sparkles in her emerald eyes, "I won't ever forget it. A sheer wave of energy slamming into Trigon, then Einderan flying above the city, firing magic and flinging rubble at the evil demon. It was the most heroic and selfless thing I've ever seen..."

Raven was a little surprised by the slight dreaminess in her voice, "Do you, like my brother?"

"No."

Both of their cups exploded, raining herbal tea on them. Luckily it had cooled down. Raven stared at her with unbelieving eyes.

"Uh, maybe."

"Uh-huh. I think I'll go tell him."

"NO!"

The table by the couch levitated in the air, did a 1420, then slammed back into the ground. Raven smiled. Nothing blew up.

"I think I will..."

"Please, don't tell him!"

They both began laughing after a few minutes. Starfire, wary of the odd flying/exploding object, levitated over to them, "Please, what is the source of your merriment?"

Raven stopped laughing and suppressed it to a smile, "Starfire, this is Frista, a friend from my childhood on Azarath. Frista, this is-"

"I am Starfire!" The alien princess declared, giving Frista a bone crushing Tameranian hug, "I am glad to meet you my new friend!"

Frista started twitching, so Raven said for her, "Starfire, suffocating."

"Oh." She released Frista, who started gasping for air, "Sorry."

Frista smiled weakly, "You are very strong."

"Yes, I have been told that before. I am sometimes over eager when greeting my friends."

"It's alright. I probably blew something up when I realized who Raven was."

"So, you're powers are like Raven's?"

"Yes. Though I am more of a healer."

"But her powers come from her emotions. She has a crush on my brother."

"I do not!"

Starfire caught the remote as it flew by her head, smiling devilishly, "If my experiences with Raven are correct, it appears you do."

The three started talking, Raven and Frista taking turns keeping the other from blowing something up. They soon were giggling and laughing like a group of, well, teenage girls. Mostly Starfire though. Still, the alien princess was glad to finally start to see around Raven's shroud of mystery.

Einderan stood in a corner, watching. He was glad that his sister was happy.

A few men were standing in a small group, talking. One of them started giving Raven very dirty looks. Finally, after a few minutes, he said, "I can't take this any more."

He walked over to Frista, Raven, and Starfire. He said, "Traitor."

They stopped and looked at him, "What?"

"Look at you Frista. You're talking to 'her'."

Starfire was confused, but Raven wasn't. She hung her head, knowing what was about to come.

"What's that supposed to mean Haejak?" Frista asked testily.

"You saw what happened to our home. You were there on Azarath. And yet you come and talk to her as if nothing happened!"

"Please, no mean talking. What is the source of this quarrel?" Starfire asked.

"Shut up girl, you have no place in this conversation. It's between me and the daughter of Trigon."

"Back off Haejak." Frista said. Her voice was cold and even.

"Now you're protecting her! Don't you get it? She is the reason that Azarath was attacked!"

"Trigon would have attacked us either way, there was no stopping it."

"How do you know that? For all we know if we had killed her when we had the chance Azarath would still be a free city!"

Robin and Beast Boy had walked into the room, and heard the argument. Robin readied his exploding disks, but played it cool and acted like nothing was wrong. Beast Boy just watched with his arms crossed.

"And for all we know we could be in this same situation with innocent blood on our hands!"

"I doubt that some one with half the blood in their body coming from Trigon the Terrible counts as innocent."

Starfire felt her anger building. Robin felt it to, as did Einderan and Frista. However, it was none of them that spoke, "Leave her alone!"

Haejak turned to see Beast Boy glaring at him, "Stay out of this."

"You back off Raven! She's our friend! My friend! And I don't sit by and let people talk like that to my friends!"

"You have a very bad choice of friends green one. Now run along and do whatever it is you people do on this planet."

Beast Boy was almost ready to maul the man, when he saw a motion from Einderan to stop. The tall brother of Raven started forward, hood covering his face.

"Beast Boy..." Raven said, shocked at the green changeling's outburst.

Haejak turned back to Raven, "Look at him. He's your friend right? Guess what daughter of Trigon, you're the reason he's going to die. You brought about the end of Azarath. You will bring about the end of this world as well."

Raven started to shake in her effort to keep her emotions controlled. Einderan said in a low voice that would have frozen a raging inferno, "Haejak..."

The man turned to Einderan, then glared back at Raven. He hissed one word venomously, "Rasemune."

Raven couldn't hold it in any more. Her emotions were to strong. However, rage wasn't the strongest. She put her face in her hands and ran, tears flowing down her face. She teleported away, Frista close behind, "Raven, wait!"

Einderan was on Haejak in a second, pinning him to the ground, "Why did you say that?"

"It's the truth!"

"Truth? Truth? What do you know of truth? You make it sound as if she wanted to bring about the end of Azarath!"

"Maybe she did."

It was all Einderan could do to keep from crushing this man. He said in a whisper, "You said she was impure. The same blood flows in my veins Heajak. You say that she wanted to destroy Azarath. She lost her mother. Same as you. And she is tormented by all of the dead already, she doesn't need you reminding her. But she can't help what she is. And hear me when I say, Trigon would not be stopped by something so mere as killing her. If you had killed her, the only thing you would have done was anger Trigon, so when his armies invaded they would have slaughtered every last Azarathian. Do you understand? She lost everything you lost, and now you're telling her that it was all her fault. You sound like a child trying to find someone else to blame." Einderan released him, "Think about that. Oh, and if you ever, ever talk to my sister like that again, I'll flatten you. Get out of my sight."

Then man needed no second bidding. He ran from the room so fast it was like he had just dissapeared. Einderan stood, and began to form a portal to go after Raven.

But before he did, Robin asked him something, "That word, the one that they call Raven, Rasemune, what does it mean?"

Einderan turned halfway, before stating flatly, "Rasemune... Hell Bringer."

With that he walked through the portal, leaving the room in stunned silence.

SOME REMOTE AREA OUTSIDE OF JUMP CITY

Frista looked beside her as Einderan appeared, "She's over there, but I can't get close to her."

"Thank you. I'll talk to her, she can't hurt me."

Einderan walked over a small hill, and saw a whirlwind of debris and black energy. He walked forward into the maelstrom, using his powers to stop anything that would have hit him. After some walking, he found himself in the center of the storm. Raven was on her knees, crying. For a moment in time, it was just the two of them.

"Raven..."

"He's right. I destroyed Azarath. Now I'm going to destroy Earth."

"No you-"

"Don't try and lie to me! Don't try and make me feel better! I've lied to myself long enough! I'm the reason all of this has happened. I'm the reason that all of Azarath... And now Earth... Sometimes I think it would have been better if I hadn't been born. If I climb to the top of the tower and jump, or take a dagger and slit my wrists. Or a gun..."

Einderan had heard quite enough of that. He walked over, put a hand forcibly under her chin, raised her face to look at him, and hit her.

She was sprawled across the ground by the blow. As she began to gather herself back up, he told her, "I never want to hear you talk like that again. Your words are cowardly, running away from the problem at hand."

"I'd rather die than be responsible for the destruction of another world."

"Fool! You selfish fool! You speak as if you're actions are brave! You're running away from father, running away from you're guilt! You're running away! You aren't a child anymore, it's not ok to run away."

"R-running away?"

"Giving your life, that is honorable and brave. Dying to protect your friends and family. But you aren't talking about giving your life. You're talking about throwing it away! Abandoning everything you know when you are needed most!"

Einderan went down on one knee, and put a hand on each of her shoulders, "I would give anything to have what you have Raven. Don't you see? You have a power that Trigon can't fathom and could never hope to match."

"What power? The power to destroy? To bring death to everything and everyone I hold dear?"

He shook his head, "You're blind to it sister. Look around you, don't you see? You have friends, friends you can trust with you heart and life to never betray you. I would give anything for that."

"You have friends though."

"People follow me, accept me, because I say I will help them liberate their world. They trust me because I say that I will lead them to freedom. But you Raven, don't you see how blessed you are?"

She shook her head slowly. She had stopped crying.

"You Raven, have friends that hold you dear in their hearts, because of who you are. They love you, and accept you, even when doing so could mean the end of their world. When it has meant the end of their world. They are willing to follow you, to help you, even when the odds of success are slim and none. And they will always be there, up until the end, whichever it is, even though by choosing you they threaten everything they know. They choose you, quite possibly over their homes, families, even their lives. Do you get it? Do you understand? You have power, a power I could never hope to match, power I could never even hope to grasp."

"Einderan..."

"Your fate is your own Raven. Prophecies tell what might happen, what are likely to happen, not what will happen. You, you have the power inside to change your fate. But if you throw your life away now, then not only this world, but every world, and this universe itself has no hope. Trigon will conquer it, and cover this place in a dark shroud of evil until the very end of time. This is bigger than Azarath or Earth, this is the fate of every living thing in this universe. All of this depends on what you choose Raven. How you choose to use your power."

She threw herself against Einderan, wrapping her arms around him. He wrapped his arms around her shoulder's comfortingly, "I'm scared Einderan. What if I choose wrong? What I don't make the right choice?"

"Then you can say that you tried. Raven, I know you're scared. We are all scared."

"You aren't."

"Yes I am."

"What are you afraid of?"

"Losing you." She looked up into his eyes, "I know that the blood that binds us isn't the best. But you are still my sister. And you are all the family I have left. You are my sister Raven, and I love you."

"I love you to Einderan." Raven stated. It was true.

Raven felt a sense of calm come over her. The storm of energy and objects subsided. Einderan stood up, "Do you understand now?"

"Yes."

"You know that I can not help you with this. Nothing beyond encouragement."

"I know. It is my prophecy, my fate. You cannot interfere it with."

"Right. I think we should head back now."

Raven smiled deviously, "Hey."

"What?"

"Want to race 'Indy'?"

Einderan froze, and he growled, "Don't call me that."

"Why not? 'Indy' is so much easier to say that Einderan."

"It was cute when you were five."

"How about this, we make a bet. Frista is still over there right?"

"I guess so."

"We race to her. If I win, I get to call you Indy."

"And if I win?"

"I don't know. Think of something."

"Alright, we have a deal. Tell me when to start."

"1, 2, 3, go!"

Einderan took off running, while Raven stood still and smirked. She opened a portal and stepped through it.

Frista looked up when Raven stepped through a portal, "Raven!"

Einderan ran over the hill, and stopped dead. He saw Raven smirking, "You cheated!"

"No I didn't. I said race, I never said what kind 'Indy'."

Einderan grimaced. He hated that name.

"Indy?" Frista said confused, "Who are you..." Then it hit her, "Einderan!"

"Yes?" He asked between gritted teeth.

Frista giggled, "Oh nothing Indy. Raven, should us and Indy go back to your home now?"

"Yes, me, you, and Indy should."

That was really beginning to grate on Einderan's nerves, "If anyone else calls me Indy I'm going to rip them apart and deposit the pieces in front of your door."

Frista was still giggling, "How did you end up with 'Indy'?"

"When I was little I could never say Einderan. It always came out End-ee-ran. Eventually I got frustrated with it and just started calling him Indy."

"It was cute when she was five but I really hate that name."

"Well come on Indy, we wouldn't want the others to get worried would we?"

Einderan mumbled something under his breath along the lines of 'I'm never going to live this down...'

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Heh, chapter three. Not much action, but lot's of character plot. Don't worry, things speed up again now.

And for all of you sick people out there, Raven and Einderan are brother and sister. They don't love each other like that.

By the way, how did you like Einderan's speech? Review and tell me!


	4. First Blood Pt 1

1Chapter Four: First Blood Pt 1

Batman had stayed true to his word. Within a day of Robin's call the dark knight had Wayne Enterprises trucks and workers out to Jump City, making the equivalent of a small town in buildings. In three weeks a plethora of hastily, though well constructed buildings sprawled out outside of Jump City.

Einderan stood on a hill, overlooking it. The Refugees were mainly from Azarath, and they were a fairly adaptive people. This change in environment had been taken in classic Azarathian stride.

He sensed a presence behind him, and turned to see a tall, well built man wrapped in a black coat an a mask covering the top half of his face. Almost like a bat...

"You have done much for us. We are in your debt, Batman."

"If you can figure out a way to stop the world from ending we can call it even Einderan."

"Ah yes, the prophecy. I'm sorry to disappoint you, but I can't help you with that."

Batman frowned, "Why not?"

"My sister's prophecy, her fate as it were, is exactly that. Her's. Not mine. Not Mael Kirheinse's or this man they call Slade's or even my father Trigon's. This is her destiny. It's her decision, her choice. A choice that no one can make for her. If I tried, my body would be ripped apart by the magic I would be trying to control."

"So, what you're saying is it's her choice and you can't help her make it."

"Yes."

"What about stopping Trigon's invasion if it happens? Could you help then?"

Einderan shook his head slowly, "If that is the choice my sister makes then I can do nothing to stop it. This is not so much a matter of fate as it is of power. I can't defeat my father. Not at his current level of strength. Not with the armies he commands. The most we could do is save as many people as possible, and that's it. But there is also a small matter of fate to be considered here. By attempting to change the outcome of Raven's decision I would indirectly be trying to affect the decision itself."

"Raven holds the power to either save or destroy the Earth, and there's nothing any of us can do to help. Great."

"Nothing I can do to help you mean. However, you can."

"Me?"

"Earthlings in general. People who call this place home, truly consider this their place of being, and accept it as such. Many people don't qualify, as they consider the Earth just a place, but there are some that do. Most of your 'superheroes' do, because they lay their lives on the line for their home. Since Raven's fate is the fate of Earth, you can do whatever you want to help or harm it, because it is your fate as well."

"So if you made this your home you could help?"

"But this isn't my home. My heart is somewhere else. Please, do not question me about this further. I would help if I could, but I can't. All I can do is encourage my sister, help her stand through this as her brother. If I use my magic though, to either help or harm this world, it would consume me in karma and tear my body apart from the inside out."

"Alright, I believe you. Now, what about this Mael Kirheinse?"

Einderan smiled with a hint of distaste, "That I can help you with. He has no part to play in this prophecy. We will find him, and seal him away. For good if at all possible. But you have my word, he will leave this world before we do."

Batman nodded, then briskly turned and dissapeared into the shadows. A small aircraft took off a few minutes later. Einderan sighed and ran his hand through his hair, "Or it could be a myth, but I really don't want to test it. That's the problem with non-spellcasters, they just don't get the idea of mystical rules..."

LATER THAT NIGHT OUTSIDE JUMP CITY, JUMP CITY MAXIMUM SECURITY PRISON

A young man was asleep on his bed. His shortish black hair looked like it hadn't seen a brush in years, and his general persona was one of general unconcern. Even while he was asleep.

"Rocker."

His dirt brown eyes opened lazily. He looked over to the barred door of his cell, an eyebrow raised.

He saw what looked like a shadow that had decided to get up and start walking around. He blinked a few times, decided he was dreaming, then rolled over and started going back to sleep.

"Rocker, do you want to get out of here? I can get you out, if you help me."

'Rocker' raised his arm and made the 'blah blah blah' motion with his hand, then let it fall and drifted lazily off into dream world.

"Don't be that way, Kirk."

'Rocker's' eyes shot open, and he sat up to look at the shadow. His eyes were a mix of shock, confusion, and a little hope.

"That's right, I know exactly who you are Kirk Shepard. It's unfair what they did to you isn't it? You don't deserve to be locked up here, you weren't doing anything. It's not your fault what happened with your powers."

Rocker nodded in agreement, then his eyes widened and he shook his head fiercely. It had been his fault. He knew exactly what would happen, he had just deceived himself into thinking he could control it.

"You were trying to express yourself. You can't in any other way. You were trying to be understood, but no one does. No one understands, but I do. I understand completely."

He looked to the shadow, hope in his eyes. Again, he shook it away. No, someone had understood. Raven had understood being not understood. She could understand him, and showed him what he was doing was wrong. She understood... didn't she?

"No, she didn't. She tricked you, she doesn't understand or even care. No one cares. Except for me. I see the injustice of what's been done to you. You have been confined here, unable to do any of the things you like to do, for something that wasn't even wrong in the first place. Please, let me help you. Together we can show the world your brilliance, show them the meaning of justice."

Rocker thought about it for a long time. He had only been doing the only thing he could do right... There was nothing wrong with it... No, there had been something wrong with it. He knew the dangers of what he had been doing. He had hurt all of those people.

Shaking his head, he motioned for the shadow to leave.

"Come now, surely you can-"

Rocker repeated the gesture more fiercely, glaring at whatever it was.

It sighed and said, "Alright, I see you don't want my help. I'm disappointed. But please, do take this, as a parting gift."

Rocker watched in amazement as the shadow procured a guitar. An electric guitar. It was a black V-wing design, with an intricate silver patter going up and down it.

Rocker stood slowly, his hands twitching. He knew he shouldn't, that he would only hurt more people. But it called to him.

The shadow strummed each of the strings, each new sound causing the young man to flinch. Perfectly tuned.

His entire body was shaking now. He approached slowly, reaching out with a trembling hand. He couldn't resist. It was calling to him like a siren calls to a sailor. Finally, he gave up, and grabbed the guitar with the thought 'Just one song...'

However, as soon as he grasped the instrument, the silver pattern turned red, and crimson electricity ran up the guitar into his body. He tried to jerk his hand away, but couldn't. He gave out a silent cry of pain as the entire cell filled with eerie red light.

A flash, the sound of someone falling to the floor, and a chuckle happened in rapid succession. The shadow pulled back the hood of it's cloak, revealing the skeletal face of Mael Kirheinse. His red eyes burned with demonic glee.

"Arise."

Rocker stood up. He was now wearing a black t-shirt and leather jacket, both with the sleeves cut off, and baggy black jeans. He slipped the guitar strap over his head, and rested his arm on the instrument. He used his other arm to sweep back his bangs from his forehead, revealing a burning symbol.

'S', with a dot at the top and in the middle.

Mael laughed as in other cells similar things were occurring, red flashes of light illuminating the room.

He dissapeared, and teleported to the center of the room, still laughing. Rocker pulled a guitar pick from his pocket, set his fingers into a chord, then hit the not, hard. The sound echoed back and forth up and down the halls of the prison, and an unseen force knocked the door of his cell off it's hinges.

The doors of most of the other cell doors were destroyed as well. Villains emerged, all with the same burning insignia on their foreheads.

Control Freak tossed a remote up and down, wearing his old coat and clothes. Mad Mod twirled a new cane as he emerged, decked out in his suit. Mumbo Jumbo brushed off his hat before spinning it between his fingers and letting it fall on his head. Dr. Light used his newly acquired suit to make the 'S' of Trigon appear in mid air above them. Cheering was heard throughout the prison at the symbol.

But not from Rocker as he just walked forward to Mael. His eyes held a question, one simple question.

Mael looked at him, grinning demonically, "Go now, go to the outskirts of Jump City, and play a song that the world will never forget!"

Rocker half-smiled, before turning and striding out of the prison. Guards rushed into the room, shocked to see the prisoners released. They opened fire with stun weapons, but Rocker played another note, and knocked them all out. He aimed to the wall, and let loose another burst of sound. He walked out of the prison, still smirking. He was going to play a song never heard before in the history of the world.

If he could laugh, he would have been doing so madly.

HA! I'M ONLY POSTING HALF THE CHAPTER!

Part Two will be up tomorrow. Sorry 'bout the wait, writers block hit like mad. I know this is short and really kind of boring, but I promise the story gets good now. Promise! I just had to figure out a way to do some stuff!

Please reveiw.


	5. First Blood Pt 2

1Chapter Five: First Blood (The blade is thrust)

"WHAT?"

Robin's yell brought every one in the room's attention to him.

"When? How?"

The titans were there in a second, Einderan standing a little bit away, curious as to what was going on.

"A symbol burned into the floor? No... Are you sure? Alright, good bye."

"Alright man, spill it. What was that about?" Cyborg asked, crossing his arms over his chest.

"The prison... The Jump City Maximum Security Prison has been... broken out of. No alarms, nothing. All of the inmates just dissapeared. The guards are still unconscious. The only clue that they could find was a symbol on the floor. An 'S', with a dot on the top and in the middle."

"Kirheinse." Einderan shot out suddenly, "Alright, how bad were these people?"

"Bad dude, real bad." Beast Boy said in a low voice.

Einderan sighed, then smiled bitterly, "The clever little devil. He's gone and raised himself an army. The people there, no matter how bad they were, are now several times worse. They are like the man 'Slade' you keep telling me about."

"You mean they're invincible?" Robin exclaimed.

"Ha, hardly. No, they are not invincible. But they are more powerful, and in the service of Mael. They will obey his commands without question. However, his bond will not be as strong as with Trigon, if you do enough damage it might brake it. If that fails though, it will take a spell. Raven, come on I'll teach it to you. Robin, go on patrol, and keep me posted. If anything, and I do mean anything happens, tell me. Cyborg, go into the camp where our people are, tell the soldiers to be on standby. Starfire, be a dear and tell Frista to set up a guard around the tower."

They all walked off to perform their duties, leaving Beast Boy, "Yo! What about me?"

Einderan turned, "Go with Robin, and don't get killed."

It was at that moment all heck broke loose.

The alarms starting ringing, the warning lights started flashing, and everyone started to scramble. The titans looked at their communicators, and were left speechless.

"This world is now under the control of Lord Trigon the Great! You can't escape us, you can't hide from us, you can't resist us! THIS WORLD IS OURS!"

The view switched from Control Freak to a view of almost every villain the Teen Titans had ever faced, smiling, laughing, taunting. Until it focused onto one face.

Mael Kirheinse.

"Surrender now, and your lives will be spared. Come, bow down before us, kneel before Trigon! HE IS YOUR GOD NOW!"

Einderan clenched his fists together, watching the broadcast on Raven's communicator, "Blasphemous dog. There's only one God, and I'm going to personally make sure that Kirheinse never even gets to the pearly gates."

"So Einderan, what do we do now?" Raven asked, as Mael continued his speech about sparing humans if they come and surrender peacefully.

She expected an immediate answer. She got an uncomfortable silence. Finally, he said, "Praying would be a very good course of action for the moment."

"What?"

"You failed to mention how many of them there were. They outnumber us considerably, even with my soldiers. And they won't go down easily. So, we are going to need some divine intervention about now."

"Einderan, have you forgotten we're half demon?" Raven asked, "Why would God send us divine intervention?"

It was a joke really and truly. He had found Raven alone and crying once in Azarath, and found himself faced with that same question, almost to the word. Einderan smiled, and responded the same way he had when Raven asked that same question years before, "Yes, we are half demon. But we're also half human right? The demon in us proves God exists, because it confirms all of the stories that have been told. So then, I say we ask for forgiveness for our sins, and pray as if we were human, and not be like, well, him." Einderan said, motioning to the communicator, "After all, if it comes down to it and we burn in Hell beside father in the end of days, so be it. But if we burn because we never asked for forgiveness, just assuming it wouldn't be granted, then I say we are very much deserving of our fate aren't we? Besides, what harm can it do to us in all honesty, believing what we know to be true and having hope in our hearts?"

"You really like to hear yourself talk don't you?" Raven asked, a small smile on her lips.

"Only when I'm talking to you, because you always have a face of sheer awe and belief. It's rather priceless."

"So, did that little speech give you any ideas?"

"Actually yes, it did. If your friends can find some Holy Water and sprinkle it on these criminals that should destroy Mael's control over them. Unholy magic after all..."

"Can be dispelled by Holy magic. Alright, I'll tell them. What about that spell you were going to show me?"

"We haven't the time now sister. I'll show it to you when this is all over, I promise. Now then, I have to go and take care of some business. Keep your friends alive alright?"

"Right. Good luck."

"You to."

LATER...

"Holy crap..."

For once in his life, Beast Boy didn't know what to say.

However, it wasn't like he didn't have a good reason. He was currently staring down Mad Mod, Mumbo Jumbo, and Johnny Rancid.

"Back again you little snot?" Mod asked, but there was a deeper, sadistic tone under his voice, as if someone else was talking with him, "Well then, I think it's time I teach you you're final lesson!"

Beast Boy took a step back, glancing around the wide, deserted street. He was alone, didn't that figure. Not that there was much choice. The attacks were so widespread they had to split up.

Mumbo waved his wand, "Hocus, pocus!"

A huge boxing glove fired out of the wand, surrounded by flames and energy. Beast Boy screamed, and held up his arms defensively.

But the blow never came. He looked, and saw a cloaked figure standing in front of him, projecting a black shield. Another landed nearby.

"Hey, are you some of those guys that came with Einderan?" Beast Boy asked.

"Yes."

Beast Boy looked to his new allies, then back to the awaiting villains, "Three on three, sounds fair enough."

Johnny Rancid laughed, hopping onto a bike that appeared from nowhere, revving it up, "You can't ride with me! Make way for Johnny Rancid!"

He charged strait for Beast Boy, who turned into a Gorilla and tried to knock the bike away. However, the bike was stronger, and tossed the changeling aside. While he was in mid-air Johnny took out his pistol and unloaded into him.

As he neared the two sorcerers though, Johnny realized something was wrong. They jumped to the side, using their magic to form a black rope like thing between them. Johnny ran strait into it. It stretched for a little bit, then flung him back to the other villains, his bike crashing down the street.

Mumbo stepped forward, "Sorry, this city isn't big enough for the three of us."

"Guess you'll be leaving then won't you?" One of the sorcerers shot back, whipping out black tendrils of energy at the magician. Mumbo smiled and waved his wand, turning the magic of the sorcerer into a long piece of rope, which fell harmlessly to the ground.

The now very confused sorcerer looked down at the rope he was holding, "What in then world?"

"Ha, you think that's good, just wait till my next trick! Abra Kadabra!"

The rope suddenly turned into a rather large and angry snake, which whirled around and started trying to bite the sorcerer, who found his magic ineffective.

The other one was about to go help his comrade, when he felt himself lifted by the back of his neck. Turning, he found himself staring strait into the eyes of Johnny Rancid.

"Where do you think you're going pip squeak?"

"Up."

The sorcerer flew upwards, dragging Johnny up with him, holding on for dear life. He was screaming various profanities, and the sorcerer was desperately trying to knock him off.

Mod smiled evilly, and pressed a button on his cane. Suddenly he was sitting on a huge anti-aircraft cannon (Strait from Britain of course), and aimed it at the sky, firing flak into the air.

The sorcerer had no idea what was going on when explosions just started happening all around him. He tried to weave between them, but Johnny was struggling, added with his weight made it impossible.

Finally, one of the explosions hit with close enough proximity to knock the sorcerer out, causing both to fall very quickly towards the ground.

Mumbo waved his wand, and a net popped out which caught Johnny, but the sorcerer hit the pavement hard.

"Well now, I don't guess we should be expecting an encore from them should we?"

Finally, the other sorcerer smashed the snake that had been trying to bite him's head with a rock, killing it. It dissipated slowly back into nothingness. He got up, swept back his hood, revealing eyes that burned with fury.

"Insolent swine. You have no idea who we are do you?"

The villains prepared to fight, when the other sorcerer got up, bones snapping back into place, and though he was grunting in pain every so often after a few seconds stood tall. Completely unaffected by the fall. He dusted off his cloak.

"That hurt slightly."

"These little snots don't know when to quit!"

The sorcerers froze for a moment, then teleported away. The villains looked at each other, confused.

"Yo idiots! Time for the Beast Boy super ultra Whale Slam of Doom!"

They looked up, and watched in horror as a green whale appeared above them. It rocketed down, then slammed on the villains with a loud crash, raising up a huge cloud of dust. When it settled, the changeling switched back to human form, holding his stomach. The two sorcerers came back, mildly impressed.

"That was good. Very wise use of your powers green one."

Beast Boy rolled over, still holding onto his stomach, "Duuude!"

"What?"

"Belly buster! That hurt! What'd I land on?"

They looked, and saw Mumbo's wand snapped in half. They heard a groan, and looked over to see some debris shifting. Mumbo stepped out wearily, the symbol on his forehead blazing. Then, it, shattered off his forehead. The red magic glowed in mid air for a moment, till it shot into the shattered wand, whose pieces promptly exploded.

"Whoa, that was weird." Beast Boy commented as Mumbo changed back into an old man, slumping unconsciously to the ground.

Pulling out his communicator, he tried to call Robin, but found nothing but static. Then Control Freak's face appeared, "I'm sorry, the number you are calling has been disconnected. In fact, all of them have been disconnected!"

The communicator exploded in Beast Boy's hand, and he sighed, "I should have seen that coming."

"Uh, green one?"

"Ya?"

"I think we still have enemies to fight."

Beast Boy furrowed his eyebrows, then looked up, "No way, that was the most damaging thing I could... think... of."

Johnny and Mod were standing, glaring at him, "That hurt you little punk!"

"You little snot! That's it, you are officially expelled!" Mod smiled and pressed the button on his cane. Suddenly huge, red British soldier robots exploded out of the ground. However, each now had the 'S' symbol on their chests. They leveled their rifles, and the first line went down on one knee, allowing the second row to follow suit.

"Ta-ta you little brats! Fire!"

The robots began to fire in an almost continuos volley. Beast Boy ducked, but found that one of the Sorcerers was projecting a barrier to hold the incoming projectiles back.

"Mians, take him and go!"

'Mians' wasn't going to hear this, and shouted at the one holding up the barrier, "I'm not leaving you! Last time I left someone behind I never saw them again!"

"Don't make me say it again!"

"I'm staying right here Kians." He said, crossing his arms stubbornly.

Mains looked over at him, "You idiot! I meant go get help so that we can fight the huge army in front of us!"

"You can't hold them off alone!"

"Fine! Fine! You, go get help, we'll hold them hear, ready, go!"

The barrier shrank, till it was a black sheild on the sorcerer's arm. He used his powers to produce a black whip in the other hand. The other sorcerer did likewise. They stood, putting the shields together to form a wall. They were glaring at each other.

"I could pull rank Mains!"

"Sorry Kians, but just because you're higher up in the army than I am doesn't mean I'm going to leave you here!"

"Not military rank! I'm your older brother, you're supposed to listen to me!"

"But that's also why I'm staying."

Beast Boy looked between them, also hiding behind the black sheild. They stared at each other a minute, then the older one nodded, "Right. Thank you."

"A blood bond is too strong to break between Mystellians right?"

A shot nearly hit Beast Boy, causing him to scream and scramble closer to the shield. They both glared at him.

"What are you still doing here? Go get help!"

"I can't teleport! And they're firing so thick that it doesn't matter what animal I choose I'll be Swiss cheese before I go ten feet! Those guys are really accurate!"

"Well we can't just sit here and be shot at forever!"

"I'm open to suggestions!"

Suddenly, the bullets stopped coming. They just, ceased fire. They glanced at each other, then the two brothers looked to Beast Boy.

"Well, take a peek and see what's going on."

"Me? Why me?"

"Because, you're smallest, you'll be harder to hit. Besides, if what I've heard about you is true, if they shoot you in the head it won't matter. Nothing important in there anyway."

Beast Boy was fuming, "Who told you that?"

"Frista."

Rolling his eyes, the changeling stuck his head tentatively above the sheild. His eyes went wide.

"What is it? Are they gone?"

"Dude, you wish."

Four tanks had rolled up the street, side by side, and they leveled their cannons at the huddled group of good guys.

"Well what you you waiting for? FIRE!"

"RUN!" Beast Boy screamed, turning into the fastest animal he could think of (Road Runner?) And high tailed it out of there. The two sorcerers were blown back by the force of the cannons, and landed a short distance away, dazed.

"Hahahahahaha! Lesson one my duckies, never stand in the same place! Let's go lads, crush them!"

The tanks rumbled forward, but soon the sorcerers were back on their feet, and lashing out with their whips of magical energy, which sliced through the tanks like hot knives through butter. The tanks exploded, but robotic soldiers filed in behind in their wake, firing. The sorcerer brothers blocked the bullets with their magic shields, lashing out every so often with their whips, decapitating and cutting them like dolls.

Once the first wave had been taken down, Beast Boy jumped out from behind the rock he had been hiding behind, laughing, "Dude! You guys are so bad!"

"What?" They asked, looking at him very confused.

"Oh, uh, when I say 'bad' like that it means good!"

They shook their heads, mumbling something about 'No wonder Raven is lonely' and 'Stupid people on this planet...'. Then they turned back to another wave of approaching robots. This one was led by Johnny Rancid himself.

"All right you stupid oversized trash cans, let's total these idiots then go rob a McDonalds!"

The sorcerers glanced to Beast Boy, who shrugged, "You get food there."

Looks of realization spread across their faces, then they turned serious again, "Hey green one, why don't you take out the one with the weird accent. We'll take care of the big guy and the robots."

"Gotcha. Taking down weird British guys with tricked out canes is my specialty."

"You have a very strange specialty then. Get to it."

MEANWHILE...

Cyborg looked up in horror. It was huge, slimy, and had an 'S' on it's, uh, thing...

You couldn't really call it a forehead...

Anyway, he was staring down the most disgusting of any villain or monster they had faced.

Plasmas.

The huge slime ball was currently ingesting every form of liquid it could, and was getting bigger by the second. Cyborg started blasting it, but Plasmas seemed not only unaffected, it looked like he didn't care at all. Even when parts of it started blowing off.

Finally, as if noticing the half-robot was there for the first time, Plasmas turned, and roared. Cyborg narrowly dodged a ball of slime hurled at him. He was preparing to shoot back, when the slime next to him formed into a smaller version of the big Plasmas.

"Well, that's new."

All of the pieces Cyborg had blown off turned into small Plasmases. Cyborg began to back away very slowly.

"Alrighty, I'll be going now." He said with a grin, turning on his heel. But he ran strait into an all to familiar form.

"How's it going kludge head?" Gizmo asked, looking down on Cyborg from his mechanical backpack, which had four sharp metal legs.

"Dude, I thought we got rid of you after you fixed me of that virus."

"You rickin, raffin snot eaters left me in that stupid puddle with the virus! Now, it's payback time."

The 'S' symbol burned on the midget genius's head, then a huge cannon popped out of the back pack, aiming at Cyborg.

The metal man looked behind him. Plasmas and the, uh, Plasmites...

Then he looked in front of him again. Gizmo and a huge cannon.

Decisions, decisions...

Cyborg smirked confidently, then aimed his Sonic Cannon right at Gizmo's gun, barrel to barrel, "Hey shorty, if you fire, I fire. The chain reaction that occurs overloads and destroys us both."

"You're bluf-"

Cyborg took the opportunity to blow the cannon off while Gizmo was distracted, then fired at the small mechanic.

"Who's the kludge head now little man?"

Gizmo looked up from his position on the ground, smiling. He pointed, "You are!"

Cyborg looked behind him, as a huge wave of crud was about to wash over him. Then Gizmo realized it would wash him away to.

"Oh crap."

They both began to run as the foul smelling, worse looking, tongue numbingly bad tasting liquid began to rush from Plasmas at them...

ELSEWHERE...

Starfire dodged to the left as Dr. Light fired continuously at her. It was proving increasingly difficult, as the beams would bend and twist after they flew by, coming back to try and strike her again.

Two convicts, hard core assassins, pulled out machine guns and started firing at her as well. Starfire looked around her, to see she was completely surrounded by energy and unable to dodge either that or the bullets. She closed her eyes, preparing herself to absorb the shot.

But it never came. She opened her eyes, and found all of the attacks bouncing off a pale gray shield. The sphere expanded slightly, and a hooded figure appeared out of a portal next to Starfire.

"Are you alright?"

"Friend Frista!" Starfire yelled, hugging the Azarathian tightly. However, this completely broke her concentration, and they were nearly killed by bullets and energy. Starfire let go, embarrassed. "Sorry, I was merely glad to see you."

"I'm glad to see you to. Now then, who is this idiot who thinks he has skills over magic?"

"Magic? Ha! You don't need magic when you're Dr. Light!" the light-crazed man yelled, gushing forth a huge beam of energy that almost broke through Frista's new shield.

"Your sheild is strong. But nothing can stand before the power of light!"

Small, bright spheres of white shot out of the doctors hands as if they were machine guns, smashing through Frista's sheild. She and Starfire had to weave to avoid being hit, and probably blinded.

"You know, the bad thing about light is..." Frista said, conjuring her powers, "It's bad for your eyes!"

She opened a portal, letting the energy pour into it, then opened a smaller one above it. The light poured back out, strait at Dr. Light. He stopped firing, and tried to raise a barrier against his own onslaught. However, the light hit Dr. Light full on, and left him temporarily blind and out of commission.

Oh the irony. Taken out by your own attack, light. Especially when your name is Dr. Light. Priceless...

The other criminals glanced at each other, then opened fire again. However, the girls flew out of range of the weapons.

Starfire's eyes glowed green, "Shall we friend Frista?"

"After you, Starfire."

SOMEWHERE ELSE...

Robin rode his R-cycle down the street. He was looking for someone, who he was quite sure would eventually find him. Someone that twisted the boy wonder's gut with hatred, anger, and revulsion.

An explosion that incited him to leap from his bike confirmed Robin's suspicions. He looked around, but saw no one.

"You're all alone Robin. You don't stand a chance by yourself. I'll tell you what, I'll let you live, if you become my servant."

"Slade..." Robin growled, taking out his staff, setting himself into a fighting position, "What happened to 'apprentice'?"

"Oh Robin, you should have known that offer passed long ago. You see, you are no longer worthy to be my apprentice. However, servant, cleaning the floors, serving the food, that seems right at your level."

"Come on out and fight!"

"Robin, you are far to eager to die. But, if that is your wish..."

The boy wonder knew where the blow was coming from, and ducked. He reached down to his belt, activated an exploding disk, and slapped into onto Slade's arm. Robin rolled away, and turned.

Slade looked down at his arm, then commented, "Clever Robin, you would have made a wonderful apprentice. However, this little toy doesn't work on me anymore."

"Oh? But this is a new toy. I'd like your opinion on it."

The disk exploded, creating a fine mist of some sort. Slade screamed in agony, shock, and fear. He fell to his knees, still screaming.

Robin stood up, smirking to himself. It only faltered slightly when Slade jumped out of the fog. Because Slade leaned up against a wall heavily, his breathing erratic, "You little punk!"

Robin shook his head, crossing his arms confidently, "Slade, where's the cool? Where's the confidence? Anger just doesn't become you."

Slade relaxed, "That was extremely clever Robin. Holy water wasn't it?"

"Well, the only thing keeping you around is demonic magic isn't it?"

"So you finally figured it out. I'm impressed Robin. But, it will take more than cheap blessings on stale water to stop me."

"That's what I'm here for."

Slade looked, and watched as an elderly woman in a loose robe stepped out of the shadows. Slade looked at her skeptically, "Who is this Robin? Cyborg's dear grandmother?"

"Didn't anyone ever teach you 'respect your elders'?" Robin taunted.

"I am Saetai, Priestess of Mekio. Or, you know him as God."

"Oh? And why should I be impressed by you?"

"Because, I bring divine wrath upon you!" Saetai raised her hands, softly speaking words. Suddenly two white columns of light erupted from her hands, hitting Slade, who screamed again. This lasted for several minutes, until Saetai's energy was sapped. She went down on one knee, but Robin caught her.

"There, I think I broke the spell..."

They both looked up when they heard a foot crunching ground underneath it. There stood Slade. There were what looked like red cracks all over him, but he was still there.

"Think again. It's seems God has left you doesn't it?"

"Blast this old body! Five years ago and he would have been..." Saetai mumbled under her breath.

Robin stood up, "She's not strong enough to destroy you. Now it looks like I get to finish the job!"

IN ANOTHER PLACE...

Raven bashed two convicts into each other, but after being unconscious for a few minutes they got back up, completely unharmed. It was frustrating to no end! She would get done with a few, only to have the ones she had just beaten attack her from behind!

And slowly, she was losing ground. In fact, they were all being forced back, little by little. Einderan's sorcerers were all faced with the same problem. Their opponents wouldn't stay down!

Suddenly Raven felt strong arms grab her from behind. Her concentration broke, and she was dragged to the ground, and pinned there. They swarmed over her.

"Hehehehe... Gotcha now!"

One of them pulled out a switchblade, while another pulled Raven's head up, exposing her neck. They began to laugh harder as the blade came closer and closer to the sensitive skin.

A black wave washed them away. Literally. A wall of dark energy swept down the street, leaving only Raven untouched. She looked up, to see what looked like a cloaked knight, in completely pure black armor.

"Who are?"

One of the convicts opened fire, hitting the knight. The bullets bounced off without even leaving marks on the armor. The villains just stared after this.

The knight flipped back it's hood, then the helmet just faded away.

"Einderan!"

"You should have known better than to try and face so many on your own sister." Einderan scolded.

"Sorry..."

"Ah, you were doing quite well until a few seconds ago. I'm afraid I was wrong before. It seems no amount of punishment has any effect whatsoever. The damage is temporary, and the bond is seemingly permanent."

"The spell you were going to teach me?"

"I already tried that. It didn't work. I don't get it..."

"So, what do we do now?"

"Well, fight them as best we can until I figure out a way to make them stay down." Einderan bowed, motioning with his arm, "Ladies first."

"Idiot."

Part Two, complete.

Next time: First Blood (The Wound is Cut)

BEAST BOY HAS A BRAIN?

Sorry about the lateness. I said it would be up earlier, but it got hectic with my cousin coming in from out of state, and hanging out with him, and it was crazy, I couldn't make it. Plus it took longer than expected to write this, and that bug thingy wasn't helping either...

Oh ya, probably out of character. But that's probably been like that for a while now, so...

And yes, I do believe in God. Everyone should try going to church at least once, you may find some answers there. Just my advice though, no offense meant to anyone...


	6. First Blood Pt 3

1Chapter Six: First Blood (The Wound is Cut)

Mians, the Mystellian sorcerer, was having a heated duel with Johnny Rancid. His brother was Wreaking havoc among the robots and any other enemies he found, leaving him to deal with this overgrown idiot.

He circled with Johnny, left shoulder towards the villain, magical shield on that arm. In his right hand he held his magic whip, which up to that point had proven ineffective. Johnny would just brush himself off and get back up.

"Give up you little punk, you're no match for Johnny Rancid!"

Johnny let loose a flurry of gunshots from his pistol, which Mians deftly deflected with his shield, and he drew back and cracked his magical whip.

Rolling, Johnny avoided the would-be deadly weapon, and fired again. His aim was true, and Mians was hit in the leg, on the side of the knee. His leg collapsed. He tried his whip again, but as he raised his hand to strike, Johnny sent another shot that hit his hand. He pulled his hand back quickly, the whip dissipating.

Johnny strode confidently up to the stricken sorcerer, and carefully aimed his pistol at his head, "End of the line pip squeak."

Mians, of all things, smirked. He held up his free hand, "What, did you think it was going to be that easy?"

His sheild transformed into a whip, which he cracked out, wrapping it around the pistol. With a hard pull, he felt the satisfying release of tension that signified that the pistol was now in about ten pieces.

Great, one less problem to deal with.

He looked back, expecting Johnny to charge in for hand to hand, but he never did. Johnny's eyes were glazed over, and he was stumbling around aimlessly.

"Ah man, this sucks..."

Suddenly the symbol on his forehead shattered, like it had with Mumbo. The magic went into the pieces of the pistol, and then exploded into nothingness. Johnny fell over, knocked out.

Mians had it figured out in about three seconds. Why nothing seemed to work on these enemies. He turned and saw Beast Boy desperately trying to hit Mad Mod as a gorilla. Focusing all his power into one final attack, Mians pulled his hand back, the whip of black energy growing hundreds of feet in length.

"Green one! Down!"

Beast Boy and Mod looked over, in time to Mians crack the whip through the air, right at Mod. Beast Boy changed into himself, ducking under the whip and rolling away.

Mod raised his cane to stop the attack from hitting him. The last few feet of the whip wrapped themselves around the cane.

"Oy, that was close my ducky, but close doesn't cut it!"

"Correction," Mians said, "I was right on target."

He jerked his arm back, then forward with all the strength he had. He sent a wave traveling down the whip (You know, hold a piece of rope above your head then snap it down real quick, you get that wave looking effect going down it). Everything went in slow motion. Mod figured out what Mians was doing, and tried to get his cane free. Kians and Beast Boy looked on in confusion, their fights forgotten.

The wave hit, and the whip easily snapped the cane into dozens of pieces.

Mod's 'S' symbol shattered like the others, and his cane exploded. The robots all shut down, falling over into huge piles of junk.

Kians and Beast Boy ran to Mians, who fell over in exhaustion. They slid to a stop beside the tired sorcerer.

"That's it... the weapons they use are the key... That's where the enchantment is, why the dispelling attacks didn't work..."

"Mians..."

"Did I do well?"

Kians nodded, "Very. Hold on, we'll get you out of here."

"Oh my head..."

Beast Boy looked back and forth between them, "What's wrong with him?"

"He's used all of his magical energy, and his life force is depleting slightly to restore it. No immediate danger as long as he doesn't try any more spells. Come on, we have to tell the others before it's too late."

"Can't you just do the 'mind message' thing?"

Kians shook his head as he helped his brother stand, "We are Mystellians, not Azarathians."

"Oh... So there's a big difference between those huh?"

"In some ways yes, in others no. Come on, I think I might be able to teleport us..."

A MINUTE LATER...

Einderan was in no danger of being harmed himself. His entire body was surrounded by a magical aura made to look like armor. Attacks just bounced off. Plus it enhanced his physical abilities, since he was actually moving using magic.

But none of it mattered. He launched attack after attack, summoned magical weapons, tried every disenchant and exorcism spell he could think of, and none of it worked. Holy magic, weak magic, strong magic, he'd even tried some black magic (He's a demon and a human, he can use light and dark magic). It stunned them, for about two minutes, but then they got up again.

"Einderan!"

Raven was fighting a losing battle. She couldn't protect herself with her aura as he could, and the villains knew it. He sent an attack that knocked out most of his sister's attackers. For a while at least.

A man came and tried to stab the mighty sorcerer while he was distracted, but the knife bounced off. Einderan turned to him, backhanding him away. However, the criminal just got back up again. And again. And again. There seemed to be no end to this.

"Sir!"

Raven and Einderan turned to see a cloaked sorcerer running through a portal to them, a whip of black energy lashing out.

"Kians! I thought I told you to go help Beast Boy on the northern side!"

"The weapons! Attack their weapons! That's where the spell is, if you brake the weapon you brake the enchantment!"

Einderan watched as Kians cut one of the villains guns in half, causing the spell to brake and the man to slump to the ground, unconscious.

The sorcerer smiled, "Kirheinse you clever devil. I would never have thought of that. They took the seal upon themselves in the physical form of the items they used to cause their destruction and chaos. Raven, did you hear that?"

"Yes!"

"Hold on, I'm going to broadcast this to everyone!" Einderan yelled back, then focused.

_Everyone! This is Einderan! The weapons, you have to destroy their weapons! If you destroy the weapons they will go down, and they won't get back up! Now, let's so them what we can really do!-_

Einderan's vision faded back to the real world, and he smiled confidently. Now it was their turn.

He gathered up his energy around him as he let some of his anger start to vent, "I'M COMING FOR YOU KIRHEINSE!"

ELSEWHERE...

Cyborg heard Einderan's telepathic message, and decided to follow it. He ducked Gizmo's attack, then rolled behind him. He grabbed the backpack off the tiny villain's back, and crushed it. He watched with satisfaction as the spell broke, leaving him unconscious. Then he turned back to his other problem. Plasmas.

This was going to be tricky. What weapon did he have?

A sorcerer appeared beside him, and both stared up in sickened horror at the liquid...ish golem, of... crap...

"Uh dude, you got the weapon message right?"Cyborg asked.

"Yes..."

"I don't see a weapon."

"I don't think I want to see a weapon."

They dodged a slimy glob as Plasmas recommenced his attack.

"Uh, let's just blast it until we think we hit it." Cyborg said, desperately trying not to think what weapon Plasmas would have.

"Agreed. I'll take the right side. You take the left."

ELSEWHERE...

Starfire finished the criminals off with a final wave of green starbolts. Dr. Light had been pretty easy to take down once his weakness was exposed. Frista told her that there were reports of winning against the controlled villains coming in from everywhere, via her telepathic powers.

"Glorious! We have gained victory!"

Frista looked over into the distance, her face blank. Then she snapped back to Starfire, "They need help to the south."

The two shot off, and they found a fierce 'clean up' battle going on. Most of the regular human criminals had been taken out easily, but the rest were causing problems. Plasmas among them.

Sorcerers ran back and forth, avoiding blobs of goo. Cyborg was yelling out orders.

"Get some of those black field things on him! Keep him still! We can't let him get away!" Cyborg yelled, motioning and pointing. The cloaked figures decided to take his advice, and started wrapping their powers around Plasmas like ropes, until it couldn't move.

"Alright guys, let him have it!" Cyborg said, firing his sonic cannon. Sorcerers used whips, waves, beams, and spheres of power to attack, others picking up and flinging debris. Starfire joined in flinging starbolts like there was no tomorrow.

The blows hit him from every side, covering every square inch of his semi-liquid body. Finally, there was a sickening crunch, and it started to melt.

"Cease fire! Hold up, stop!" Cyborg yelled to them.

There lay a young man, sleeping soundly. Cyborg sighed in relief, "I really don't want to know what that crunch was..."

MEANWHILE...

Slade had been weakened for a while, but it seemed temporary. Now he was back to what Robin assumed was his full power, even after the holy water and white magic.

The sadistic man caught one of Robin's punches, and flipped the boy wonder over his shoulder into a pile of debris, leaving him dazed.

"You see Robin, no matter what you do, no matter how hard you fight, no matter what tricks you pull, you cannot defeat me. You never could on your own. And now, not even with the help of all of your precious friends can you beat me. The prophecy will be fulfilled, and this world will end."

"Why? Why are you doing this Slade? What could you possibly get out of this?" Robin asked bitterly, getting to his feet unsteadily.

"What do I get out of this? The thing I lost Robin."

"And what is that?"

Slade raised a hand, holding his palm out to Robin. Fire condensed into a ball around it, "Why don't you ask God? After all, they do say all questions are answered in death."

Robin prepared his unwilling limbs to dodge, but knew he couldn't move out of the way in time. Darn it, it wasn't supposed to end like this!

Suddenly, from no where, a black shield descended, and the fireball couldn't brake through it. The force of it split, moving along the wall of energy, until dissipating in the air.

"Is that you Raven?" Slade asked cooly.

"You should only be so lucky."

A black figure rose from a portal in the ground. A shadow wrapped in a cloak of black. Robin was reminded for a moment of the grim reaper, but cast the thought away quickly.

"So, you're another one of the sorcerers that came with this Einderan. Mael understated it when he said you were rebels, you've officially become an annoyance to me."

"My sincerest apologies." The figure replied sarcastically. He pulled back the hood of the cloak, and the shadow melted from his face, "But you see..." The shadow melted further, until it revealed a confident smirk, "I am not a sorcerer that came with Einderan. I am Einderan."

There was a heaviness in the air from the power emanating from the brother of Raven. It was thick, with something unseen but definitely felt.

Slade regarded him with the same cool as everything else, "You are the leader of the revolution against Lord Trigon? Hmmm... I'm disappointed."

"You are the feared undead soldier in the service of Lord Trigon? Hmmm... I must say, the feeling is mutual."

"You can not beat me boy." Slade said confidently.

Einderan crossed his arms, which were still covered in the magical black armor, and his smirk deepened, "That's likely. You have a part to play yet. But I do think that you would do well to stay well away until I leave."

"Oh? And why is that?"

Einderan glared, uncrossing his arms. The air thickened further, and he said in a very threatening voice, "Because, I do not take kindly to those who hurt my sister, directly or otherwise. And so far, you've managed to do both. You've hurt her and her friends both physically, and emotionally. And you had better start praying, because when this prophecy is dealt with, and my sister overcomes my father, I will come back. And then, you will know your final destruction."

"You deceive yourself. Raven cannot 'overcome' Lord Trigon, or the prophecy, and you know it. Deep down, you know that there is no hope. Because when this world falls, there will be nothing left in this universe strong enough to stop Trigon's conquest."

"I must say, you have a rather bad choice of demons to serve. You think that there is no hope for me? Let's look at you. You have allied yourself with a demon. Even if my sister fails, and all you have worked for comes to pass, and my father covers the entire mortal plane in an eternal darkness, do you know what happens then?"

"Oh, please enlighten me."

"You would be lucky if he keeps you around that long. Incredibly. The luck of the devil you might say. Or maybe not. Because if Trigon does conquer the universe, guess what happens to him? I would say Baaltazac would take an interest in this new demon kingdom. And I know Lucifer would, he's been trying to do it since he was cast from Heaven. So then, if my father does accomplish his goal, the only thing he has to look forward to afterwards is to be overthrown by beings so powerful and evil they make him look like an angry child. Where does that leave you? Because I doubt that the luck of the devil would hold up against the devil!"

Slade shrugged, "If everyone loses, then at least you don't win."

Einderan chuckled, "Be glad it is my sister, and not I, who holds the title 'Rasemune'. Because if it were my prophecy, my destiny, you would be back in the pit you crawled out of. Listen to yourself. At least I don't win. I can see why they hate you so much, I've only talked to you a few minutes and your intelligence has already shown itself severely lacking. Here you are, serving Trigon the Terrible, the ender of worlds, for no apparent reason. And both victory and defeat lead to the same destination, your destruction. So like I say, start praying. Perhaps at the end of this God will have mercy on your soul."

Slade had been standing rigid, and Robin was sure he was gritting his teeth. Then suddenly he relaxed, and chuckled darkly, "I don't know what mind game you are trying to play son of Trigon. Are you trying to dishearten me? I have nothing else to lose. Trying to sway me 'back to the light side'? I can't see a reason why I should. You see Prince Einderan, you are talking as if you have everything figured out. As if you are holding all the cards. Let me tell you, you don't!"

Slade rushed forward, and punched Einderan in the chest as hard as he could. The sorcerer didn't budge an inch, didn't even blink. The black, magical 'aura armor' stopped the blow dead. Slade looked at it, dumbstruck.

"You don't need all the cards when you have the ace." Einderan replied cooly.

"Ace? What ace do you have prince?", Slade spat the last word venomously.

"Let's see, now that you mention it, I am a prince. My sister is a princess, her friend Starfire is a princess, Kians and Mians were princes of Mystell, my it's looking like I have in my hand a full royal flush doesn't it?"

If there was one thing Slade didn't like, it was being outwitted. And by that point Einderan was pretty much showing him up. He pulled back and angrily started punching Einderan as fast and hard as he could. Einderan didn't even flinch.

Slade cursed and put his magical powers into it, his fists flaming. The blows became blurs of fire. Small cracks started to appear in Einderan's armor. Slade smile inwardly, redoubling his assault. The cracks repaired themselves, but reformed even faster. They began to spread, and deepen. Then he pulled back, and put all his energy into one final attack. The punch hit Einderan square in the chest, and he knew that the armor would be broken.

But it wasn't. Einderan's face was blank as the armor just repaired itself, back into it's smooth featureless form.

"You'll have to do better than that." Einderan said coldly.

"I'd be happy to."

Slade must've realized attacking Einderan's armor wasn't going to work, because he let loose a flurry of kicks and punches directed at the sorcerer's head. Einderan ducked back and forth, dodging the attacks, blocking when necessary. Robin just watched on in awe as Einderan kept up with the masked villain. Something the boy wonder had never truly been able to do.

Finally, it appeared that Einderan was getting bored. He delivered a quick backhand to Slade's stomach, sending him backwards several feet.

"I grow tired of this. Tell me now, where is Kirheinse?"

"Why should I tell you?" Slade asked, getting back to his feet, "You've already said you can do nothing to me."

"Oh I can't kill you. That much is true. But I don't think it would disturb fate if I say..."

"You're threats are hollow." Slade seemed distracted for a moment, then added with a slight sadisticness, "But I don't think telling you would be a bad idea. I do believe he is with Raven."

RAVEN...

Einderan had left, saying that Robin had found Slade, and he wanted to talk to the villain that had caused them so much pain. Raven didn't mind, she was confident she could handle herself now that she knew how to defeat the enemy.

"Hello, dear Princess Rasemune." A voice jeered from the shadows.

She felt her blood run cold. Looking around quickly, Raven stretched out with her powers, trying to find him.

"I must say, you and your friends put on quite a show. If I hadn't planned this to happen I might've been impressed."

"Show yourself!"

"As you wish, princess."

And there Kirheinse was, right in front of her. He wasn't there one moment, then he just was. Raven summoned her powers instantly, her hands and eyes glowing black.

"You planned to lose then?"

"I haven't lost Princess Rasemune. In fact I'm not even delayed by this. This battle's result couldn't even be considered a set back. My goal was accomplished."

"And what goal was that? Prove how stupid you really are? My brother is going to tear you limb from limb!"

"But he isn't here now is he? I wonder, how long would it take him to get here if you screamed? A minute? A half a minute? Twenty seconds? Ten? Five? One? It wouldn't matter though. He would only come in time to see the small fragile flame of your life extinguish in front of his eyes. In fact that would be rather fitting. Like mother like daughter after all."

Raven screamed in fury and launched everything she had at him. It either bounced off or was stopped before impact. Mael was chuckling, "So close now. It won't be long..."

She stopped her attack, seeing that it wasn't working, "What won't be long, demon?"

"So many things dear Princess Rasemune. So many things."

At that moment the demon shot forward, summoning up his black sword. Raven tried to raise her barrier, but knew it wouldn't form in time, and her reactions were going to slow to dodge.

She saw the blade come closer, and closer, then she closed her eyes.

She felt the wind of the blade go by, not even centimeters from her head. She was motionless for a moment, then opened her eyes, dazed.

Mael caught the hairs he had cut as they fell, grasping them firmly in hand.

"Kirheinse!" Einderan yelled as he teleport to the scene, ready to fight.

Mael raised the hairs, and grinned at Raven, "My battle trophies. Sorry our meeting was cut short princess, I hope we don't see each other any time soon."

Then he was gone again. Einderan arrived a split second, screaming, "Get back here you coward!"

Raven's hand ventured to where the blade had severed a few strands of her hair, "Why did he miss? He could have killed me, why didn't he?"

"What?"

"He missed on purpose, and took a few of my hairs. Why? Why would he do that?"

Einderan gritted his teeth, "I don't know. But he has something planned. He's not stupid, he has some kind of scheme. Did he say anything?"

"He said his goal was accomplished, and that this entire attack was a ruse of some sort. And that many things are about to happen."

"Hmmm... What are you thinking Kirheinse? Why would you? I have to meditate before my emotions get out of control, do you think you can handle things without me for a while?"

"As long as Kirheinse doesn't come back we should be fine."

Einderan nodded, then turned. Raven watched as her brother let the black magic armor fade away, walking a short distance then forming a portal without missing a step.

Then she felt something. A disturbance, faint but distinct in the distance. She turned towards where it was coming from, and glided up on top of a building. She saw what looked like smoke, and fire in the distance. But what was over there?

No...

A FEW MINUTES EARLIER...

He walked with a slow, heavy gait. Ponderous, but also rhythmic, and determined. He had walked right through the chaos, right through the fighting, no one giving him a second glance.

It was always like that. No one ever gave him a second glance. No one cared. No one gave him the time of day. They cast him out, a freak, shunned him because of his talent. His ability. They cursed him for the only thing he could do. It was his skill, his calling, and he was hated for it.

But he would show them. He would show them all. He would make them look twice. He would make them care. He would give them a reason to fear him. To curse him. To hate him. He would do exactly what they thought he would do, then shove it in their face.

They would look over their shoulders in fear as they ran.

They would care he lived because of the destruction he wrought.

They would fear him for his power.

They would curse him for his skill.

They would hate him for his ability.

He was going to destroy it all, then shove it in their face that they had been right. That he was a monster. A monster they had created. He tried to help, and he was driven away. He tried to sooth, he was beaten back. He tried to heal, and he was harmed all the more.

They had created Some Kind of Monster.

He stopped at the edge of a small, hastily constructed town. A little girl walked up to him, smiling sweetly, "Hello!"

He didn't answer. He couldn't answer. He merely kept his head down, keeping his face in shadow, letting his bangs covering his forehead.

"What do you have on your back?"

He turned his head slightly, looking at the instrument he was carrying. He smiled and motioned in a 'you want to see?' manner.

She nodded her head, and a rock was encased by a black aura, and flew a short distance, almost hitting the man. She blushed, "Sorry."

He didn't notice any of this though. He brought the instrument from it's position on his back, sliding it on the strap till it was in the ready to play position.

The little girl looked at it quizzically, "What is it? What does it do?"

"Treya?" A voice called out from the background, but went unnoticed.

He strummed the six strings one by one with his fingers, and the girl's face lit up, "It makes music?"

He nodded. A woman jogged up, kneeling by the girl, "Treya, what have I told you about going off on your own like that."

"Sorry. I was talking to him. He makes music!"

She turned to the man, and frowned, "Who are you?"

The smile turned evil, sadistic, showing a bit of the white gleam of teeth from the corner. He raised his head, revealing eyes full of demonic joy, and anger. He swept his bangs back, and chuckled, though no sound was heard.

The mother didn't get it till she saw red. A symbol on his forehead. 'S'

"Oh my, Treya, run!"

The mother grabbed the little girl's hand and dragged her away as quickly as she could, yelling warnings to the other people.

He kept laughing. If he could have made the sound, the laughter would have been quite dark, and insane at this point. But he couldn't. So he pulled a small plastic pick from his pocket, and strummed the strings one more time.

The strings of his guitar were his vocal chords.

He felt the power radiating around him. From him. Through him. In his head a melody started to take form. A sonnet of sorry, a symphony of destruction, a requiem of havoc. He closed his eyes, letting his heart synchronize with the beat of the song. He took a deep breath, then opened his eyes again. Screams of terror, shock, and hurry were coming from inside the town. The perfect backdrop.

He slid his left hand along the strings, setting his fingers into position, then he hit the strings hard. The wave of energy shot out from him, striking a house. It broke apart, the buildings around it vibrating with the force of it.

He let the sound hang in the air, bending the strings and sliding up down the frets. If you listened hard enough, you could almost make out words.

'_Run now_'

Then the real song began...

RAVEN

She couldn't concentrate enough to telepathically send out a warning, but she flew overhead, screaming down to them. Her communicator was still being jammed. But she knew she had to get to the town where the refugees lived.

'Stupid! Stupid, stupid, stupid, I should have known that monster would do something like this!' she mentally slapped herself.

"Cyborg, is it working now? Well? It is? Good, Raven!"

She looked down and grabbed it, "Robin! We have a problem!"

"I know, people here are pretty confused, we couldn't make out what you said."

"The refugees, they're being attacked! I can see the flames! Robin, you have to get here quick! Tell the others!"

"What? How many of them got to the town?"

As Raven neared, she almost dropped her communicator in horror. The music was deafening, accompanied by the screams of the victims.

"Raven!"

"One..."

"Who?"

"Rocker..."

"Punk Rocker?"

"No, just, Rocker... Hurry."

She shut the communicator off and rushed downwards. The people were trying to defend themselves as they could, but they weren't soldiers. And they were fighting an opponent unlike any they had ever seen. With a simple motion of his wrist his set loose a new wave of sound, a new burst of power. And he was playing a fast, piercing, deep song. The power was continuos. He had made it near the center of town, and just sent it in every direction. He was destroying everything.

She had to stop him. She wasn't strong enough to do it by force, but maybe...

Raven floated down gently, putting up a sheild against his power. When the music quieted, she yelled to him, "Kirk!"

He stopped immediately, and turned slowly. She almost ran at the look in his eyes. Hatred, loathing. Anger.

"Kirk, fight it! This isn't you!"

This just seemed to make him angrier. Her sheild was almost useless as he screamed back at her with his guitar.

'_HOW WOULD YOU KNOW!_'

"Kirk, don't you remember me? It's Raven!"

'_Of course I remember you! Liar, deceiver, there aren't enough curses for you!_'

"What?"

Everything within a fifty foot radius was blown away, except for Raven when he answered.

'_YOU TRICKED ME! PRETENDING THAT YOU UNDERSTOOD! THAT YOU CARED! WELL I'VE SEEN THROUGH YOUR LIES!_'

Raven was knocked on her back by the force, her shield completely gone. She struggled to her knees, pain lacing her body, "I wasn't lying! I do understand! I do care!"

'_No you don't_' he replied, shaking his head. He looked disgusted by her, his head tilted as if he couldn't stand to look at her, '_You don't care. You said you would come. That you would help. That you were my friend. You promised me that you would help me control my powers. Not that I cared, but you were the first one to understand what I was saying. To get the meaning of the song! But you never came. I waited. And waited. But you just left me to rot in that cell!_'

She flinched. She...

'_Don't even try to give me an excuse! Pathetic, lying, you couldn't beat me so you attacked the one vulnerable spot I had. Pressed your advantage right to my heart then left me out to dry! Well guess what. Just because you understand the song doesn't mean you understand me.'_

"I'm... sorry..." Raven said, her strength giving out. It took all the power she had to remain conscious. His song had power, incredible power. He wasn't attacking, yet still she was bombarded with it constantly.

'_You're sorry? That's it? Six months of being alone in a ten by twelve cell and all I get is a 'I'm sorry'? I need more than that. And I'm going to take it now._'

She stood up, summoning all the power she had left. Which was very little, she had been fighting for too long, and...

Then sorcerers just appeared, stepping through portals and fading into view. Frista appeared and pulled Raven away, "Come on, he'll be taken care of!"

"No! Let me go!"

Kirk, Rocker, looked around and scoffed. He flipped the pick into the air with his thumb, caught it, then asked.

'_What? You think you can rock with me? Huh? Alright, let's see you try!_'

He started playing again, this time with such fever that he was actually concentrating, and the results were devastating. With every note another blast of energy was fired. With every chord a wave of destruction was ushered forth. Many of the sorcerers and sorceresses were blown back by the force of it. Those that weren't let loose with spells, debris, and magical black whips.

But they all bounced off an invisible shield that the song created. Nothing got through. Only more destruction came out. The empaths among the group were almost as scared of the rage and hatred that was being vented as the attacks themselves.

Frista was now holding Raven back, "Stop it, what are you doing?"

"He's different! His spirit is not like the others! I have to help!"

"Raven, you're too weak, you can't help anymore!"

Nothing could pierce the field around rocker. It was seemingly impregnable. And his power just flowed like a tsunami over the spellcasters. How could one person be so strong?

Then a new figure appeared. One who looked about as angry as Rocker did.

Einderan.

"Who do you think you are? You come here, and blatantly attack us? No, not us. Coward, you attacked the women, children, the elderly and the sick! It's scum like you that reminds me why I'm fighting."

'_BRING! IT! ON!_'

The force of it shocked Einderan, and he was knocked completely off his feet. The song became taunting, almost like laughter.

The sorcerer's pride was hurt now. He got up, and decided to end it here and now, "Kalei Ertar Riak Vek Tal!"

Black energy flowed upwards into the sky from Einderan, his cloak billowing in the wind. Suddenly fire dropped down in a great column, right on top of the guitarist.

Einderan let his arms drop, but kept up his guard. Did that do it?

The inferno burst from within, and there stood Rocker, looking ever more the part surrounded by flames, smoke, and destruction. His arms were crossed, and he was looking at Einderan unimpressed.

"Hmmm... I see. So it will have to be like that will it?"

"Einderan!"

He turned, eyebrows raised, "What is it sister? I'm a little busy."

"You don't understand, he is channeling his soul through the music! That is his power! To him his music is everything! It's how he expresses his feelings, how he expresses himself, it's how he speaks! It means more to him than his life! If you try those kinds of attacks his spirit will break long before his instrument does!"

Einderan was surprised by this, and looked back to Rocker. He whispered in almost awe, "A true bard... One who let's their spirit flow through music... I thought they were a myth..."

'_I don't know what you're talking about, but I'm no myth. In fact, let me prove it to you!_'

Einderan summoned up a black sheild to block the incoming attack. This was a problem. Bards, true bards, were complicated. The instruments they played were extensions of themselves, right down to a spiritual level. That's where their power came from, and why it was so powerful. They channeled their emotions and feelings, the very essence of their souls, through the song.

And the instrument he was playing had a demonic enchantment on it. Crap.

"Sister dear, I'm open to suggestions!" Einderan screamed over the music. He would be able to hold the barrier for quite a long time, but he was still on edge. He had never foreseen this complication.

Raven bit her lip, hiding behind a piece of rubble. Einderan probably could have crushed the guitarist, but that would brake the man's soul. And no matter how evil, she knew Einderan couldn't do that to a person.

Einderan muttered under his breath. Disenchanting the instrument was out, he would be decimated before the incantation was complete. Destroying the weapon would fix everything, but what Raven said was true. In a direct battle, Einderan would have to shatter through the man's soul before the instrument could be harmed. And while Einderan had the power, he had to much heart to do something that cruel.

He was slapping himself mentally.

"Think, think, come on! He's playing a song, why is it so hard to beat? Wait a minute..."

Then it hit him. A song. He looked to where his sister was.

They would have to give it a shot.

"Raven! Start singing!"

"What?" She yelled back.

"Come on, it may be enough for his soul to start fighting the enchantment!"

"But I haven't sang since I was nine!"

"Then pretend you're nine!"

"Einderan, I can't!"

"Raven, it's his only chance! If it comes right down between him and us I'm not letting him walk away!"

"I don't have any power in my song though! What good will it do?"

"He's a bard Raven! Music is his life, you said yourself. It doesn't have to have power, but if it's from your soul it may bring his spirit enough strength to fight!"

"Einderan, I, it's, I can't."

Einderan sighed, "So you gave up singing. It's a shame. You always had the most beautiful voice."

He walked forward, despite the energy being flung against him. The sorcerer raised his hand, and began to gather power into it, for strike that would end this fight.

"God, have mercy on both of us. I'm sorry, please forgive me."

He closed his eyes, and when he opened them again he stiffened his body, ready to launch the spell. Rocker readied himself to fight back. For a moment only the shrill sound of a reverberating guitar note filled the air.

Then just as Einderan was about to fire the attack, a soft voice filled the air. Clear and haunting.

"Night has settled over us,

Will it ever again be dawn?

Darkness has come and I'm alone,

Alone with only my song."

Einderan turned to Raven, who was standing up, and shakily singing. Then she closed her eyes, and remembered something.

When she was young, Raven did sing. Quite a lot. It was her talent, her creative medium. She got it from her mother, who taught her songs. One in particular, she remembered. Whenever she would have a nightmare, she would wake up, and sing it softly to herself.

"Who knows what hides around,

Around in the shadows of black.

Waiting, waiting all around,

Waiting for their chance to attack."

Rocker was entranced by this. He started to shake visibly. Going down on his knees, he grabbed his head with his hands, the symbol burning brightly.

"But I have no fear,

Because for all the shadow's might,

Darkness is always gone,

Gone in dawn's first light."

Tears began to flow down Raven's face. How many times had her mother sang that to her? How many times had dreams of darkness and demons been chased away by this song? How many sleepless nights had she found herself gently humming it? Oh why did she have to chose this one of all the songs?

Rocker's spirit, his true spirit, fought. Fought because the song was so pure, he had to. Something about it made him fight the thing that had been invading his mind. And slowly he was forcing it out of him, back into the instrument.

"Close your eyes and drift to sleep,

All will be better when you wake,

And no matter where your path may lead you,

Always with you this song take."

"So that when you are faced with night,

The sun never seeming to rise,

You may sing away your fear and doubt,

Looking hopeful to the eastern skies."

Einderan was almost so lost in the song he missed his chance. He turned quickly back to Rocker, and formed a ball of energy. He had to time this right.

"Light never fails to win,

In a battle against the dark,

And so you have nothing to fear..."

Raven put her hand on the center of her chest,

"As long as you keep the light of your heart."

Einderan grimaced. Now or never. He prayed to God and hoped that this would work. And with that, he threw the energy as hard as he could.

Everything was in slow motion. The spell traveling towards the instrument, slowly, oh so slowly. Einderan waited in anticipation. He was silently begging for this to work.

Feet seperated the attack and the demonically possessed guitar. A foot. Inches. An inch. A centimeter.

WHAM!

The spell hit like a cannon shell. The guitar, rejected by the bard that was playing it, broke in two. The spell on Rocker's forehead followed suit, and soon both it and the shards of the instrument were nothing but memory.

But he didn't collapse like the others. He blinked, as if awakening from a dream, and rubbed his eyes. Then he stood up, and looked at his clothes. That was new.

Then slowly it came back to him. Realization dawned on him. He looked up, and saw Einderan, and the destruction around. Rocker turned to try and go the other way, but faced more destruction. He spun around quickly, trying to find a way out, but couldn't. He began shaking his head. Tears formed in his eyes, and he fell back to his knees. His shoulders were slumped. His body almost entirely limp. He was beaten.

No, not again. Please, I couldn't have done it again...

Then he did the thing any of us would do. He broke down, and cried.

123456789123456789123456789

Alright, if you are wondering what was going on, let me fill you in. Raven and Einderan, being sorcerers and empaths, can pick up feelings right? Well, Rocker (This is an original guy), is a bard. He lets his thoughts, emotions, his very being flow through the guitar, hence his skill and power. Well, he can play a guitar, and to those attuned, he can 'talk' by doing it. Only empaths can understand it though.

That should explain it well enough. Ok, next order of business. I will give you a cookie if you can find the song reference hidden in this chapter. I'll give you a hint, it's a Metallica song, and it's during a part with Rocker in it.

And if you have questions like why can't Rocker talk, how does he know Raven, and all that stuff, wait till next chapter.

And what would Mael Kirheinse want with Raven's hair? Why would he create such an elaborate diversion? Was it all to distract from Rocker's attack? Or is there more?

Muahahahahahahahahaha!


	7. Memories

1Chapter Seven: Memories.

The prison was being repaired, so the criminals and convicts were scattered over the city in secure locations, under heavy guard. Many times by a few of Einderan's soldier sorcerers. They had been lucky once again. The sorcerers were a tough lot. No casualties, though in some cases it had been close. They had enough healers to keep everyone alive another night, even though more were no on the injured list, and probably would be for a while. The rest guarded the prisoners, making sure that the scattered areas were secure from the convicts in them escaping.

One of theses convicts however was taken back to the Tower, which had returned to a fairly normal state. Once the town was completed, they had moved those sorcerers who were still injured there. This one prisoner sat in a small, plain white room. One wall was glass, a one way mirror. He was seated at a small table, handcuffs on his hands. He was staring at the table with blank abandonment.

Raven was watching him, trying to catch an emotion or thought, but was unable. She felt a now familiar presence at her side.

"Hello brother."

"Raven." he replied, with a nod of acknowledgment, "How is he?"

"In a sort of daze. He is awake, but at the same time it's like he's completely blocked everything out."

"That's about normal."

"It is?"

"He just had his mind and body assaulted by a demonic curse, and it even went deeper than that since his is a bard."

"I've heard stories about them, but aren't they all supposed to be dead?"

"Supposed to be. I guess the stories were wrong in that respect, because there he is."

Robin walked in, closing the door behind him, "Raven, I have some a question for you."

"What is it?" She asked, not turning.

"You said that you knew him. From where?"

Sighing, Raven asked, "Remember that time when Mumbo escaped jail and was wrecking havoc, but I had to leave because Steel City had a disturbance as well?"

"Yes. We would have sent someone with you, but it was Mumbo."

"I know. Well, he was the disturbance. His name is Kirk Shepard, also known as 'Rocker'."

"Like Punk Rocker right?"

"Well, in his words, not mine, comparing him to Punk Rocker is like comparing a note to a rift."

"Uh..." Robin and Einderan glanced at each other, both very confused.

"A note is a single sound, and a rift is a pattern. Apparently he's met Punk Rocker, and they don't get along well. And he is actually much stronger."

"Hmmm, alright, that makes sense."

"I have a question," Einderan said, "I have met very few of anything that has his kind of power. How is it you were able to beat him?"

"Well, he's not a bad person. Just misunderstood, like me." Raven told him, "Most can't understand it, but when he is playing he's actually talking."

"Talking? How? And why can't most understand it?" Robin asked, crossing his arms.

"He just is. His emotions, thoughts, it's all going into the music. To normal people it sounds like regular sounds. But to empaths..." Raven motioned to herself and Einderan, "We pick up on the thoughts and emotions. We can hear what he's trying to say."

"And he doesn't just talk because?"

"He's mute. He was born like that." Raven said, then walked to the door to Rocker's/Kirk's cell. She walked in, and closed it behind her.

Kirk (I'm going to call Rocker by his name now, thanks) glanced up for a moment, then returned to staring at the table.

"Hi." Raven said, sitting down in a chair across from him. Kirk sighed, and slouched back in his chair, scooting back and draping one arm of the back of it. He stared at Raven, waiting for her to continue.

"How are you feeling?"

Kirk had gotten very good at using his facial expressions in the place of words, and the look he shot Raven was one that said 'Like crap'.

"What happened?"

Kirk rolled his eyes, and held his arms in the air. Raven mentally slapped herself for that one. How could he tell her?

And she didn't even bother with the mind reading thing. She had found it impossible to pick up anything unless he was playing an instrument, no matter how lively he was. Another quirk of what he was.

She created a portal and summoned a pen and a pad of paper, and set them on the table.

Kirk looked down at them, then back to her, and his expression clearly asked 'Are you serious?'.

She motioned, and Kirk rolled his eyes and began to write.

(Things in >> are written)

>>I hate doing this. Written words are so impersonal, no one ever actually get's what I'm trying to say>>.

"Yes, I know. We had this discussion last time. Now come on, tell me what happened."

Robin watched, surprised by many things. Patience, concern, things that would have shocked him coming from the dark girl on a few weeks before. Raven had changed so much...

"When she is around me, Frista, our people she can be herself. She is able to express her emotions more fully, because if her powers react to her emotions, someone is there to dispel it. She also suffered a lot of pain, a lot of guilt, but knowing that our people don't hate her for the most part has healed that. When we are gone though, she will go back to being cold, emotionless Raven. That is the way, the curse of all lone Azarathians. But now you know the person under the ice right?"

Robin nodded, "I can't really say what's in or out of character for Raven anymore. After what Cyborg and Beast Boy told about running into the different sides of her personality, seeing her when she first arrived on Earth, and now this, I don't know what's her and what isn't anymore..."

"She is complicated, even to me. So many things to deal with, I'm sure a normal person would be in turmoil. No offense."

Robin shook his head, "None taken. I doubt I could handle it. Having to keep yourself locked up, being the portal for a demon overlord, who happens to be my father to conquer the world through, not to mention already being responsible for the destruction of my home world... I would have gone insane long before now."

"Strength, that she has, and it has been like that since she was born. Strength in more ways than one. Oh and for the record."

Robin glanced over at him, "What?"

"She was nice enough. But if you're wondering if the dry sense of humor and generally sarcastic nature are new, they aren't. She is friendly with us because she hasn't seen us in so long and she is afraid that the people hate her. But back on Azarath, before Trigon, she could turn any embarrassing situation or insult back on someone else. And she would, sometimes even seeking out the opportunity. . The only people I can think to make an exception for are me, Frista, and her mother. And not all the time for the first two."

"So she was close to her mother then?"

"Incredibly."

Raven waited patiently for Kirk to get done writing. He did, he turned the pad around and slid it to her.

>>I was sleeping in my cell. Then I hear a guy outside my cell, saying he can brake me out. But what do I want with braking out? So I told him to go away. He starts saying stuff about how he knows me, and understands my problems. I listen, but then he starts going on about how I should want revenge and all that crap for the 'injustice' done to me. I get mad and told him to go away again. Well, he say's 'ok', then offers me a farewell gift right? He pulls out a guitar! From nowhere, just out of the shadowy stuff that was around him. I tried to fight it, I really did, but having a guitar right in front of me and not playing is like finding an oasis in a desert and not drinking. I grab it, and I get a real bad vibe right away. I get this real burning pain in my body, and everything goes red. From then it was like I was dreaming, then I wake up, and I'm surrounded by burning buildings.>>

Raven read it, and nodded, "Was the guy tall, skeletal looking?" She asked, sliding the pad back to him. He nodded.

She pondered this, then noticed he was writing something down, tentatively. Raven looked over, and he looked back, tears in his eyes. He slid the paper back to her.

>>Did I hurt anyone?>>

Raven knew better than to lie. She nodded her head slowly, "Yes."

He took the paper back, then wrote something quickly, in a panicked manner. This was a more serious question.

>>Did I kill anyone?>>

"No."

He sighed, the tension his body going limp again. He mouthed the words 'thank you', then closed his eyes.

Raven got up, having found out what she wanted to know, then told him, "I'm sorry. I did promise to visit, to try and help you gain control over your powers. I said I would help, but I never came. But things have gotten real bad. Things from my past coming back to haunt me... Things that could mean life or death for everyone on this world. But, it's no excuse. I could've come, but I was too wrapped up in my problems, and, I'm sorry."

She heard him scratching away at the paper, and turned. He slid the pad to her a final time, with a smile.

>>Apology accepted. It did hurt being left alone like that, but I understand crap happens. Story of my life. Don't feel bad about it. You have a beautiful singing voice by the way.>>

Raven blushed and mumbled something, walking out of the room quickly. Kirk just sighed and fidgeted in his seat. He wasn't really conscious of this, though he really would have liked to have been. He was tired, and wanted to go to sleep. His body had a habit of moving and shifting until he found the perfect sleeping position, which was not possible. He had woken up in very strange places, as well as body positions (How he had stayed asleep on a pool table with one leg bent under him and his upper body hanging off was beyond him, but it had happened. In fact, he wasn't even sure how he had ended up on the pool table. But he had a picture somewhere that proved he had...)

Robin and Einderan had both seen Raven start blushing before she could pull the hood of her cloak over her face.

"What, it's true." Einderan said with a shrug, "You were one of the most requested performers on Azarath. Not ever day a little girl not even ten is called in front of the royal court."

Robin knew what they were talking about. He and the other titans had arrived in time to hear Raven's 'performance'.

"Shut up, _Indy_."

"Oh come now, don't start that childishness again! I compliment you and you start up again with that infernal name!"

"Royal court?" Robin asked, finally able to process the words and ask.

Einderan smirked as Raven looked away, as if her face would literally start glowing red, "My little sister here was quite the celebrity for a while. The royal court of Azarath requested her talents for a celebration feast. As I recall, they weren't disappointed."

"I wasn't that good, or that famous..." Raven mumbled.

"I beg to differ. The Empress was not an overly kind lady. Compliments from her were worth more than Terlek emeralds. You got several."

Suddenly a black strip of magic appeared and covered Einderan's mouth. He sighed and snapped his fingers to dispel it.

Nothing happened.

He looked down in shock, then tried again. Still nothing. He began to panic, what on earth was going on?

"Hehehe..."

Einderan stopped and glared at her, eyebrow twitching. He motioned to his mouth, then crossed his arms.

"Wondering why you can't brake that spell?" he nodded, "Because you're a cocky idiot who forgot to put away his book of spells a few nights ago. Stupid."

Raven walked out with a swirl of her cloak. Robin was in shock for a few minutes, before he burst out in laughter. Einderan started taking deep breaths, but was finding it hard to keep calm and not fly after his sister.

The one way window turn black, then shattered. Kirk was currently had his legs on the table with his upper body in a chair. The sudden lack of a barrier stunned him, and he looked at them questioningly.

Robin kept laughing, until he noticed that from under Einderan's hood there was now nothing but shadow, and the room had suddenly pulled away. The sorcerer suddenly looked a lot taller, everything else seemed so far away. Einderan looked... The grim reaper came to mind.

Shutting up quickly, the boy wonder edged his way from the room.

Kirk raised an eyebrow, confused. Suddenly the pen wrote this on the paper of it's own accord.

>>My sister is going to pay for this>>

LATER...

The sky was dark with clouds, and it would probably rain soon. Perfect reading weather. Raven was sitting in the living room catching up on a book she had been reading before all the madness had started, about the life of a great wizard named Nevik Nella.

"Hello."

"Hi Frista." Raven replied, turning the page.

"What is that?"

"A book."

Frista glared at her, "I know it's a book, what's it about?"

"The sorcerer Nevik Nella."

"Hmmm... Sounds vaguely familiar. What did he do? Oh, he did something important didn't he?" Frista said, rubbing her head trying to think of it.

They heard muffled noises behind them, and they looked up. Einderan's eye was twitching, and he was desperately trying to keep himself calm. His mouth was still covered by the black strip.

Frista just stared at him, "Sir, why do you have a silence spell on you, and why haven't you broken it yet."

"He has a silence spell on him because I put it there," Raven said with a smirk, "And he can't brake it because I read a book of spells he brought with him."

Frista blinked, then began to giggle, "Oh my..."

Einderan crossed his arms and gave Raven the 'well?' look.

She didn't even glance at him, "Promising not to talk won't do you any good, because if that were true you wouldn't be wanting the spell broken would you?" Raven pointed out.

The older sorcerer rolled his eyes, and tried to look angry. He failed. Truth be told, he was rather impressed that Raven had managed to steal that book of spells at all. An impressive feat.

Suddenly a flash of lightning lit the room, followed closely by a roll of thunder. Frista and Raven both looked out the window, only half caring.

Einderan froze, his entire body tightening, his hair standing up on edge. Then after the thunder he gasped, the spell broken easily and the entire tower shook. Raven and Frista both whirled back to look at him.

This was not something they had seen before. His eyes were wide, unfocused. His breathing was quick and shallow. His body had broken out into a sweat.

"Einderan, what's wrong?" Raven asked, putting her book aside and standing up, "Brother?"

Another bolt of lightning, and Einderan sucked in his breath as if in pain, and went down on his knees. He was trembling now, his eyes tightly shut. Stuff started exploding and flying around the room like a poltergeist's Fourth of July.

Both of the girls had to dive to avoid getting hit. Cyborg, Robin, Beast Boy, and Starfire (Who had been doing various other activities) ran to see what the disturbance was. They to had to take evasive action.

The amount of power filled the room with a loud roar, and Raven had to yell over it, "Brother! What's going on? What's the matter?"

Then everything stopped, debris clattering to the floor. Einderan didn't move, but his eyes opened wide, still unfocused. He whispered one word, "Please..."

A bolt of lightning, a surge of power, then he was gone. When the lights flickered back on, Raven pulled herself off the ground and looked around frantically, "Einderan?"

Frista reached out with her powers, and soon found him, "An island, about ten miles further out in the ocean."

She began to create a portal, when Raven stopped her, "He's my brother, I'll take care of it."

"But Raven-"

"Please, let me do this."

Robin stepped forward, "I can't let you do that. If he was the one causing that chaos a few seconds ago if you go after him you might get hurt."

"He won't hurt me. He might not make such an exception for you. Please, I think this is a... personal problem. The only thing that could work my brother up to that point... I think this is one of those 'father issues' Robin. Do you understand?"

The boy wonder raised his eyebrows, then contemplated. He sighed and nodded slowly, "Go. But if you don't come back-"

"I don't know how long this will take. I'll be alright."

And with that, she created a black portal and walked through it...

ISLAND FURTHER OUT AT SEA...

Raven didn't have to look very hard. It was a small island, with earthquakes rattling it. The center of power was easy to find, a small cave. Every a flash of lightning or roll of thunder would occur, the entire island would shake.

She took a deep breath, and entered the cave. Running quickly, she knew that the area right around Einderan would be safe.

However, strangely enough, the cave was devoid of all flying objects. She stopped in surprise. She was expecting a hurricane. Why wasn't it?

Then Raven saw Einderan, and it didn't matter.

He was sitting against the wall of the cave, shivering. He would flinch at every lightning bolt, and give a small cry at every crash of thunder. He was biting his lip to try and hold it in, biting so hard blood ran down his chin.

Raven was knocked over as the cave came to life, rocks and stuff flying everywhere. She didn't know why it had waited like that, but lots of things were different about Einderan.

"Azarath, Metreone, Zinthos!" She yelled, creating a barrier around herself and flying towards Einderan.

She watched in horror as he slowly started to close himself in a barrier as well. She knew that if she didn't get to him, something bad would happen. So she pressed onward through the storm of rocks and debris, even when her sheild broke.

His shield was closing, closing, closing...

Raven only just made it through. The barrier closed behind her, and she and her brother were cut off from the rest of the world.

"Einderan?" She whispered. He didn't even move.

She walked over, and got down on her knees, bring their eyes level, "Brother?"

He was staring strait at her, but he wasn't seeing her. She felt turmoil inside him, pain...

Then it was if something snapped. He looked around quickly, cringing at the sound of another lightning bolt.

"Brother, what's wrong?"

He almost tackled her. Einderan wrapped his arms around her, holding on as if he let go he would die, "Raven..."

She didn't move for a second. Then she noticed, a dampness on her shoulder. She looked, and saw tears flowing silently down her brother's face, soaking through her cloak and the cloth underneath.

Raven couldn't bear it. She almost started to cry herself.

'No' She told herself, 'He was strong for me. I have to be strong for him'

She gently wrapped her arms around him, saying gently, "It's ok Einderan. It's alright. Nothing is going to hurt you."

"He already has." Was his cryptic response. But she didn't press him to clarify, because after he said it he began to full out cry on her shoulder. And it seemed to get worse every time it thundered.

They stayed like that until the storm ended. Which was several hours. Raven had fallen asleep.

Einderan, finally getting himself back under control, and taken off his cloak and wadded it into a pillow, laying her head on it, and waiting. Silent. Just waiting.

It didn't take long for Raven to wake up after Einderan though. Her eyes flickered open, looking around groggily. She was fully awake though once she remembered what had happened, looking at Einderan with a worried face.

"Brother..."

"I'm sorry you had to go through that." He replied in monotone.

"Einderan," She said, getting into a sitting position against the wall opposite him, "What happened?"

"It made me remember... Do you recall, back on Azarath when you were six?"

Raven hesitated, then let him evade the subject, "Yes I think so..."

_**FLASH BACK**_

_**Raven wondered around the public garden aimlessly. It was late, mother would kill her if she found out her child had been out at such an hour. But something called the little girl out here. **_

_**She heard yelling, and crashing. At first she was scared, but then recognized the voice. She ran forward, around some rather large bushes. **_

_**Stone benches were shattered, the pieces scattered around. Pieces of the stone walk way were missing, tossed aside without care. Many plants had been pulled up. The water was slowly leaking out of a hole in the side of a fountain. **_

_**Einderan went down on his knees, looking up to the sky, "Trigon... You monster... Look at what you made me... Demon... Look at what you made me become."**_

_**Then tears began to run down his face. He clenched his eyes shut, trying to stop them, but failing. Pieces of rubble began to shift slightly, but they didn't move much. His power was gone. **_

_**Raven had never seen him cry before. It was nerve racking, because he was the one who looked out for her, the strong one. He couldn't be crying. He...**_

_**She ran up to him, and stopped a few feet away, "Indy?"**_

"_**Go away Rae."**_

_**She shook her head, "Why are you crying?"**_

"_**...Him...Trigon..."**_

_**Raven walked the few steps, and hugged him. He was on his knees, but she was still much shorter so her small arms wrapped around his shoulders. Well, as far as they would go.**_

"_**It's ok. He's my father to. He is a...a...a..."**_

"_**Demon?"**_

"_**Yes. He is a demon. But just because he is a demon, it doesn't mean you're a bad person."**_

"_**I wish that were true..."**_

"_**But you're a good person! You're nice and kind, and look after me to make sure I don't get in trouble, and don't let the mean people hurt me, and are nice to me even when I'm not nice to you... You're not a bad person."**_

"_**You don't understand sister."**_

_**Raven stepped back and stomped her foot angrily, "Why do people always say that to me! I do understand! I'm just like you, I'm half, demon, and, I, I, and if you're a bad person, then I, I'm a bad person to... And, please stop crying..."**_

_**Tears began to form in the small girl's eyes as she talked. **_

"_**I don't want to stop crying Rae. I want my tears to..."**_

"_**Please... I... I don't like this. You're the strong one! I'm the one who's supposed to cry! You... You are making me sad, because, if you're sad, and..." She thought for a minute, then asked, "If I sing, will it make you happy again?"**_

_**Einderan laughed, looking down from the sky into the hopeful eyes of his sibling. Her eyes, the same as his. Demon eyes. Yet... "Yes, I think it just might. Come on, let's get home before mother finds out you've been gone and kills us..."**_

_**END FLASHBACK**_

"That's the night you stopped calling me Rae." Raven commented.

"Ya..." He said, then sighed. Tears were forming again, "I'm sorry Raven... I, I lied to you."

"What?"

"I... I..." Einderan stuttered. He took a deep breath, "I have been lying to you for a long time."

"About what?"

"I..."

CLIFFHANGER

What secret will Einderan reveal? Why was he so afraid of lightning? Why did he lie to his sister?

What is Kirheinse planning?

Tune in next time for Memories, Part Two, Revelation.


	8. Memories Pt 2

1Chapter Eight: Memories Pt 2 (Revelations)

Raven could sense his turmoil, which frightened her slightly. She had never seen him quite like this. And what did he mean he had been lying?

"About what?" She asked, hurt and confused.

"I have... I..." He closed his eyes and set his thoughts strait. There was no going back now. He could convince her to leave him alone about it, that much he knew, but she would never trust him again. And he didn't want to lie anymore.

"I haven't had amnesia in ten years. It faded when you were six."

"W-what?" Raven asked, stunned. That wasn't what she was expecting to hear at all, "Why didn't you tell me? I mean, why didn't you tell us? Mother and-"

"She knew."

Raven blinked, then asked softly, "Then why didn't she tell me? Why didn't you tell me? I don't understand."

Einderan brought his knees up, letting his crossed arms lay on them. He leaned forward, letting his forehead rest on his arms, trying to curl up and disappear.

His sister glared at him, but then her face softened, "Oh, I... I don't have to know. If it hurts that bad..."

"No. You deserve to know. Alright. Let me start off with this. I look eighteen right?"

She nodded.

"Well, I'm not. But you knew that. Here's the part you didn't know. I am quite aware of my age."

"So... how old are you?"

"Two hundred seventy nine."

Raven's jaw dropped. Staring blankly, she didn't know what to say for a long while. Then she asked, "But, how is that possible?"

"I'm also quite sure that I'm not from Azarath." He stopped for a second, then stretched his legs back out, let his arms fall to his sides, and leaned back again. Einderan thought for a moment, the answered her unsaid question, "I never met my mother. I don't even remember my home."

"So, what have you been doing for the last two hundred seventy some-odd years?"

"I was getting to that. Just, this is hard Raven. I've never told this to anyone except for your mother." Einderan paused, the continued, "Anyway. It's not a bad question. What was I doing? Learning. I was being taught, cultured, molded."

"By whom? And to what purpose?"

Einderan smiled bitterly, "I thought that would be obvious. I was being taught by Trigon. To become general of his armies..."

_**FLASHBACK**_

"_**No thought. No hesitation. No mercy."**_

_**Einderan looked to his opponent, a lower class demon soldier. He repeated his father's words again and again in his head.**_

"_**No thought, no hesitation, no mercy... Don't think about what I'm doing. Don't hesitate to do what I need to do. No mercy, hmmm... I wonder what mercy means."**_

_**He looked around, knowing instinctively that his father was watching. Trigon was always watching. However, he was very surprised to actually see him standing at the edge of the ring. His body was the same size as normal, but size was relative. He could be a giant, or a speck, it didn't matter. **_

"_**Mercy? Have I not taught you that, dear son?"**_

_**Einderan stood still for a moment. Trigon had never called him that. Why did he? A trick? Then he shook it off, "No father, you never did."**_

"_**Well, I think it's time you learned. Mercy is weakness. Mercy is cowardice. Mercy is letting an opponent live. Mercy is something a weakling will give to an opponent so they won't have to follow through with the conviction of battle. Weakness, cowardice, that is mercy."**_

_**Einderan just stared for a long time. Then an evil smile crossed his lips, "Thank you father, I am grateful for the lesson."**_

_**Trigon's face remained blank. No emotion whatsoever.**_

_**Einderan turned back to his opponent, forming his energy into a sword. The demon soldier did the same. **_

_**Without any hesitation they rushed each other. Einderan slashed from the side, dodging to the left to avoid a stab from his opponent. His attack was ducked, and countered. **_

_**The sorcerer barely jumped out of the arc of the demon's swing, but did get away unscathed. He stabbed quickly, but it was parried to the right. Einderan used the tension in his arms to swing it back as hard as he could. **_

_**Einderan and the demon's blades locked together, each trying to overpower the other. It appeared they were evenly matched. **_

_**Trigon watched, without looking at all involved. Come on boy, do something right for once. **_

'_**I have to win' Einderan thought 'I must win. Father is there, I can't lose. I must show him I am worthy.'**_

_**However, his line of thought was broken when the more experienced demon quickly jerked his blade to the side. The momentum of it pulled Einderan off balance, his own blade flying out of his hand and dissipating into nothingness. **_

_**Einderan landed on his side, and the demon raised his sword high above his head. **_

_**It occurred to the sorcerer that the demon had not heard his father's lesson. His mind instantly formed a plan to make his father proud.**_

_**He raised his arm up, and yelled, "Mercy!"**_

_**Trigon's eyes glowed red in anger hearing the word. The insolence of the boy! He would die!**_

_**The demon hesitated, looking over to Trigon. **_

_**Then Trigon saw something that confused him to no end. A black spike suddenly impaled itself through the demon soldier. Looking for the source, he found it to be...**_

_**Einderan?**_

_**His grin was insane, sadistic, evil. He began to laugh as the demon screamed in pain, falling over and letting his weapon dissipate. Einderan stood up, looking down to the soldier. **_

"_**Mercy... What a laughable concept. Mercy is for the weak, like you."**_

_**With that, he delivered a powerful kick to the demon's face, bringing out another cry of pain. **_

_**Trigon was stunned for a second. Then Einderan turned to him, smiling like a true prince of demons, "I see what you mean father. Mercy is weakness. I believe your army has become infested with this 'mercy'."**_

_**It hit Trigon at that moment. He smiled, then laughed, walking over to him, "You had me worried for a moment, but now I see. You are my son. You had that planned didn't you?"**_

"_**Press every weakness. Exploit every advantage. Strike without thought, without hesitation, without mercy. I knew he would freeze, if only for a second."**_

_**Trigon put a hand on his son's shoulder, "Merciless, as a son of Trigon should be. I had my doubts, but you have cast them aside. Ruthless. Cunning. You knew his fear of me would stop his attack if you cried mercy, and you knew that was when to attack."**_

_**The demon overlord turned to the demon, who was still on the ground, holding his wound. He picked up the soldier with one hand, "You should have known. Don't show mercy to the merciless. Fool! He is right! My army has grown soft! I must make an example of you! My son, what should we do?"**_

_**Einderan looked up at his father, mouth gaping. Trigon never asked for advice, except from his top generals. Ever. Son or not, and Einderan knew that Trigon had quite a few sons. Could that mean?**_

_**Nodding his head and smirking victoriously, Einderan considered, "Do you truly wish my council?"**_

"_**Of course. After all, if you are to be general over my armies you must be able to give council. So what say you? What should we do with this weakling?"**_

_**All of his hopes confirmed, the half-human's smirk deepened, "Let's be lenient this time. Send him to the Hell hound kennels. See how long they stop when he cries 'mercy'."**_

_**The demon looked over to him, angered, "You will regret this boy! I don't care if he is your father, I will remember!"**_

"_**That's the point." Einderan said, turning as his father created a flaming portal and threw the screaming soldier into it.**_

_**END FLASHBACK**_

Raven was speechless.

"You'll never guess who that demon was."

"Who?"

"Mael Kirheinse. Just in case you were wondering why he hates me so much."

"Einderan... Did you really do that? Was that really..."

He nodded his head, "It get's worse from there. Much worse... You see, at first I did those things out of a desire to impress father. Because the more impressed he was, the better off I was. But it changed, even from that. He began to teach me himself, the magical arts. Elemental magic. Shadow magic. Enchantments. Curses. Even time magic. That's why I haven't aged, and don't age. I could, but I don't want to."

"So... He taught you..."

"Yes. Don't mislead yourself, there was no love between us. After that fight I slowly started doing things less to impress father, and more so that he would teach me more. You want to know how I know I had no love for him? Because, when I had enough power, I was going to seize his armies and overthrow him. That was my plan. So I just patiently waited, drifting further and further into darkness. For over two hundred years. Do you know how long that is? Do you know have any idea what that was like?"

"Einderan..."

"He taught me iron control. I could keep any emotion in check, silencing it in seconds. Not that I had many emotions anyway."

"I understand that part Einderan."

He looked at her, shaking his head, "No Raven, you don't. You keep your emotions in check. I didn't have them. I didn't have hardly any human emotions, I had never felt them. Those I had I would rather not have. And I had so many demon ones... But I could control them all."

"So then, what happened next?"

"I grew so powerful that not even Trigon's generals could match me. Or, I was at least equal to them. Ruthless, cold, cunning, and deadly, I had become the nightmare known as Kalsamune."

"Hell son?"

"Exactly. I commanded almost as much respect and fear as Trigon himself. Demons froze and saluted when I walked within a hundred yards of them. Those who were brave enough. Many just ran. The only one who didn't was father, and he was the only one I would pay respect to. The others were tools, weapons to send into battle, they didn't matter. Worthless, weak, they could be sacrificed. Father to could be sacrificed, and I was willing to do it for the 'greater good'. Ha. My greater good that is. I would have been just as bad as he was. I was just as bad. I am just as bad."

"No, Einderan, you aren't! You're a good person now, no matter what you did."

However, he broke into tears anyway. He didn't even try to stop them now, "You haven't heard the rest of it yet. Fifteen years ago..."

_**FLASHBACK**_

_**Einderan watched his soldiers march. Yes, his soldiers. His army. His power...**_

"_**Do not disappoint me. I do not tolerate failure, not even from you."**_

_**The sorcerer laughed, "I learned all I know from you. I don't know how to fail."**_

_**Trigon smiled, joining his son in watching the army, "Pawns, nothing more."**_

"_**Never underestimate the power of a pawn."**_

"_**But what does a pawn have compared to a king?"**_

"_**What does a king have compared to the one playing the game?"**_

_**Trigon laughed mercilessly, "Ha! You have grown much my son. A being as ruthless and cunning as I am! You are of my blood. Which is why you are going to lead the next campaign."**_

_**Einderan whirled, "I'm going to what?"**_

"_**You have proven yourself worthy. What world shall we burn? Where shall we conquer next! Choose my son! This army is yours to command!"**_

"I chose..."

_**The half demon smiled sadistically, "Azarath."**_

_**Trigon frowned, "Azarath? We have attacked before, they are a strong people."**_

"_**Exactly."**_

_**Trigon smiled, and said, "I know what we will do. I'm afraid you will have to settle for commanding the conquest, because I have an extra special plan for those insolent shadow mages. One that would make my other conquests seem kind! Go, train your army. Three months, then I will tell you of my plan."**_

_**END FLASHBACK**_

Raven stood up slowly, shaking her head, "No... You didn't."

Einderan began to tremble, "Yes, I did. I chose to attack Azarath. I knew that they were the last great race of spell casters. If I conquered, I would prove myself better to my father, and finally gain the support I needed to overthrow Trigon. Then..."

_**FLASHBACK**_

_**An army was coming back in tatters. Weakened, many demons collapsed as soon as they came through the portal. Quite a few had been sent back by spells before the main army. **_

_**Einderan looked at the returning army in fury. What was going on? **_

"_**Where did you attack?" Einderan questioned a soldier.**_

"_**Azarath."**_

"_**WHAT! WHO ORDERED THIS? WHO LED THE ATTACK?"**_

"_**I did."**_

_**Einderan threw the soldier away and glared at his father, "You?"**_

"_**Yes."**_

_**The sorcerer strode up to him, and stared at Trigon right in the eyes, "Why? You humiliate me! I train my soldiers to attack when you go off and do it yourself! And lose! Do you do this to demoralize the soldiers, so that I will fail? Are you that incompetent-"**_

_**Trigon snatched his son's throat, and picked him up. Einderan's air flow was interrupted by his father's vice-like grip. The demon overlord smiled, "Do you question me? Not even you can do that boy! I had a reason for this."**_

_**He tossed Einderan away, leaving him gasping for air. When his breathing returned, he looked up and said, "Forgive me, it was not my place. But why?"**_

"_**Oh don't play dumb. We both know that if you succeeded you would declare yourself master in my place. You are my son after all. But if you wish to do that, you will have to defeat me one on one, not with my armies at your back."**_

_**Einderan stood up cautiously, "So if you know that, why am I alive?"**_

"_**Because, I wish you to be alive. You fascinate me, a creature so like me. My ambition and my cruelty and my power."**_

"_**No, not your power. You say defeat you one on one. We both know that will never happen."**_

_**Trigon nodded, "And that's if I allowed you to fight me one on one, which I wouldn't. You would have to clear all of my legions to get to me."**_

"_**Some of them are loyal to me."**_

"_**I know this as well."**_

_**Einderan crossed his arms, "So what is it, are you showing me mercy because I'm your son? Treason is normally punished by death."**_

_**Trigon shook his head, "I have no mercy. But you see, you are a powerful pawn. Perhaps more than that. Perhaps one day you will grow strong enough to challenge me, and I will let you come. But until then, you will serve me."**_

_**Einderan shrugged, "I don't understand your logic."**_

"_**I may need someone powerful like you later."**_

"_**So then, I'm just another tool. But this blade is double sided 'father'."**_

"_**But I still wield you 'son'."**_

"_**I will grow stronger."**_

"_**So will I."**_

"_**I will kill you."**_

"_**We will see."**_

_**They just regarded each other, then Einderan shook his head, "Perhaps you've finally gone insane, because I do not see why you would keep me alive. But alright, if you wish. Still, why did you attack Azarath like this?"**_

"_**It's all apart of my plan. During the raid I impregnated a woman."**_

"_**What you do with your spare time is of no concern to me."**_

"_**Oh, but this is significant. I placed upon the child a curse. She will be the gateway into Azarath, the key to the world."**_

_**Einderan raised an eyebrow, "How is that?"**_

"_**One day, she will open a portal, which the Azarathians will be powerless to close. I will have trained your army for the entire time, and they will fall before our might. Nothing will prepare them, there will be no warning."**_

_**The half-demon nodded slowly, smiling, "Then we slaughter them without mercy."**_

"_**Oh no, that would be too easy. Then we enslave them! Make them our servants! Turn them into pets!"**_

_**Einderan's smile widened, "Maybe I should stay loyal to you father. You're cruelty is simply amazing, I don't think even I can match it. So then, when should I prepare my army to move?"**_

"_**That will be handled by someone else, I have a special assignment for you."**_

"_**Really?"**_

"_**You are going to go to Azarath, and make sure that nothing stops the portal from opening."**_

"_**What would stop me from becoming a turn coat and warning them?"**_

"_**They would kill you, and nothing you've worked for would come to pass."**_

_**The sorcerer shrugged, "I don't have a choice. But the Azarathians have surely put up a barrier by now. How do you propose I get through?"**_

"_**We will bring our portal masters here, they will get you through whatever barrier is there. Do not fail me."**_

"_**Of course not father, I wouldn't want to die before taking your throne."**_

_**END FLASHBACK**_

Raven stood at the entrance to the cave, looking out. So Einderan was...

"That's the attack that he raped my mother..." She said.

"I had no knowledge of it. Anyway, the portal masters came, and I was sent to Azarath. But the spell was botched, someone screwed it up. When I woke up I didn't remember a single thing. I was unconscious for a day I think, until my body was discovered."

"By who?"

"You're mother. I opened my eyes, and there she was. I attacked her then and there, but I didn't remember how to harness my powers effectively and she managed to subdue me. I was yelling and screaming in anger..."

_**FLASHBACK**_

"_**LET ME GO! WHO ARE YOU! WHERE AM I? I'M GOING TO KILL YOU ALL!"**_

"_**Please, calm down, the demons are gone now." A soft voice told him.**_

"_**What are you talking about? Demons? Who are you?"**_

"_**My name is Arella. What's your name?"**_

"_**Where am I?"**_

"_**What is your name?"**_

"_**I'm... I'm..." He said, his face growing pale. His eyes widened as it hit him, "I don't know..."**_

_**Arella walked over to him as he started to struggle violently. She used her powers to make him be still, then brushed some hair off of his face with her hand, "It's alright, I'm not going to hurt you. It's ok now..."**_

_**He suddenly felt the power in his body again, and lashed out, knocking her through the air. Standing up he just went berserk on anything and everything in sight. **_

_**Arella stood up, flustered, and yelled, "THAT'S ENOUGH!"**_

_**He froze, all emotion draining from him instantly. Arella almost gasped at the sudden withdrawal of power from the air. She walked back over to him, slowly.**_

"_**There's nothing to be afraid of."**_

"_**Where am I?"**_

"_**You are in a place called Azarath."**_

"_**Who are you?"**_

"_**Like I told you, my name is Arella."**_

"_**Why can't I remember who I am?"**_

_**She flinched. He was a total automation now. No one she had ever met had such control, "One of the demons must have hit you with a spell, or you hit your head during the fighting."**_

_**Arella took a few more steps, when he said sharply, "Don't come any closer."**_

"_**I am not going to harm you."**_

"_**How do I know that?"**_

"_**Please, I just want to help."**_

"_**Help? What's that?"**_

_**Stunned, she stopped in her tracks, "Are you serious?"**_

"_**What does that mean?"**_

"_**Help is... When you do things for others when they need it or can't do it themselves."**_

"_**Like mercy?" He asked.**_

"_**Um, in a way."**_

_**He knocked her away when she said that, "I DON'T NEED ANYONE'S MERCY! MERCY IS FOR THE WEAK!"**_

"_**Stop right there!" **_

_**Sorcerers and sorceresses descended, surrounding him. He spun around slowly, regarding each with furious eyes.**_

"_**Are you alright Arella?"**_

"_**Fine..."**_

"_**I believe that someone should put him back in his place!" Another sorcerer said, launching an attack at the boy. **_

"_**Itari Kial Sib!" **_

_**The man found himself flying through the wall of a building nearby. The spell casters looked over from the wall, to the boy, then back to the wall. Several ran over to see if their friend was ok.**_

"_**Alright, let's get this child before he does more damage!"**_

"_**Wait!"**_

_**Arella flew over beside him, blocking some of them's line of fire, "Get out of the way!"**_

"_**He doesn't remember anything! He doesn't even know his name!"**_

"_**He remembered that spell pretty good!"**_

_**He looked down at her, frowning, "What are you doing?"**_

"_**Helping."**_

"_**I don't need you-"**_

"_**It's not mercy, it's help. And besides, who taught you mercy is for the weak?"**_

"_**My... I... Um..."**_

"_**Mercy isn't for the weak. It's for the strong." She stated simply.**_

"_**How so?"**_

"_**The strong show mercy to the weak, to show their true strength. They spare others because they have the power to do so, and it isn't right to use strength on those who can't fight back. It takes a strong person to give an opponent their life, even after fighting them."**_

_**END FLASHBACK**_

"That was the beginning of it really. I swear to you, I've existed for so long, but it only seems like I've been alive the last sixteen or seventeen years of it. It was like, I met your mother, and woke up from a horrible nightmare. I started losing control of my emotions, because she exposed me to so many new ones. Kindness. Happiness. She taught me how to smile. And even how to cry. She was my mother, she was the one who showed me how to be human. I owe everything... to her. She showed me what was right and wrong, the difference between good and evil, how to treat others. She showed me how to... love. I loved her. She wasn't my real mother, but..."

"Did they know what you were?"

"Well, it didn't take them very long to figure out I had Trigon's blood in my veins. After all, that's kind of hard to miss really. That was the day I felt the power love could have..."

_**FLASHBACK**_

"_**He's half demon Arella! Half of his blood came from that monster Trigon!"**_

"_**That doesn't make him a monster as well!"**_

"_**Out of the way! Why are you protecting him?"**_

"_**Who knows what he's been through! But I've begun to get past the anger and hatred. He's not a monster!"**_

"_**He is the son of Trigon!"**_

"_**I know that! And he's also one of the most in control person I've ever met!"**_

"_**Why do you defend him?"**_

"_**Because! Because... I'm carrying his sibling."**_

"_**What!" The crowd gasped. **_

"_**He... Trigon..." Arella stumbled over words, tears in her eyes. She didn't want to say it. **_

"_**Arella... He... took you against your will?"**_

"_**Please..."**_

_**They began to whisper among themselves, when suddenly one yelled, "Then maybe you both should leave!"**_

"_**W-what? Leave?"**_

"_**Yes! Take both the son and the child you carry and leave! Maybe you'll take Trigon's attention with you! Get rid of the cursed blood."**_

"_**But where would we go?"**_

"_**That's not our problem."**_

"_**You... You monster! It's not his fault what blood is in his veins! It's not the child inside me's fault who it's father is! You call Trigon heartless? Look at yourself!"**_

"_**I won't take criticism from you!" The man said, lashing out with his power. **_

_**Arella watched it come, and braced herself for the impact, when suddenly it stopped. She opened her eyes, and the boy stood there, looking at the crowd coldly.**_

"_**You will touch her over my dead body."**_

"_**Is that a threat?" The attacker asked. **_

"_**Yes."**_

"_**Ha! Mighty big talk from someone who can't even remember his name!"**_

_**He closed his eyes, and heard a voice in the back of his head saying, "Einderan..."**_

"_**What was that?"**_

"_**My name is Einderan."**_

"_**So has your memory come back, 'Einderan'?"**_

"_**No... But that's my name."**_

"_**Well then, I guess you think you're pretty big now don't you? You pathetic dog, son of a demon! And she is no better! Maybe we should just send all of you to the next world!"**_

"_**I say again, you will touch her over my dead body. And be aware that you will be climbing over the bodies of fallen comrades long before you have to worry about mine."**_

"_**Arrogant!"**_

"_**Leave now."**_

"_**This isn't over!"**_

"_**Leave, now"**_

"_**You dare give us an order son of Trigon?"**_

"_**LEAVE! BEFORE I MAKE YOU LEAVE!"**_

_**The crowd ran after that, leaving a very shocked woman and a very angry young man.**_

"_**Einderan..."**_

"_**I won't let them hurt you."**_

"_**Why? You hate me."**_

"_**No. I don't know what I feel, but I know it isn't hate. I don't understand this... It's, tearing apart my mind... Will you help me?"**_

_**She nodded quickly, "Yes, I will help you. Come on, tell me what's bothering you exactly."**_

"_**I don't know... It's something I don't ever remember before. I feel it for you, and it's just so, odd. I feel like you are more important than I am, and everything in my head is screaming that isn't right..."**_

"_**I believe I may know what's bothering you..."**_

_**END FLASHBACK**_

"I think you know what happened from there." Einderan finished.

"You were raised by Trigon to be just like him... You chose Azarath to attack when he gave you a chance... And you were sent to make sure that nothing happened to me..."

"Now you know why I never told anyone. I am a horrible person. I am evil, no matter how hard I try to hide it."

Raven almost agreed, but then shook her head, "No, that's who you were, not who you are! You're different now! You're a good person! My brother! You are fighting against Trigon!"

"I manage to hide it, but you have no idea how truly screwed up my head is."

"Tell me, I can help."

"Arella said that to. She couldn't. But alright, I'll give you an example. You have an emotion, Rage inside you right? Embodiment of your anger in your mind?"

"Yes, everyone does. Why?"

"I have two."

"Wait, two? But how is that possible?"

"I told you, my head is screwed up bad. I also have two happys. One is the human version, joy, laughter, and smiles. The other is the demonic one, the joy of battle, of blood lust being quenched. I am evil. And there's nothing I can do about it."

Raven walked up to him, pulled his head upwards by his hair, and smacked him.

"Einderan, come to your senses! You are my brother! You were always there when I needed you! Whenever I was alone or frightened you would come and it would be ok again! Whenever someone harassed mother about me or her 'meeting' with Trigon, you would show up and they would stop! You protected us, watched over us, just because you bear the scars of Trigon on your mind doesn't make you evil! Arella loved you as if you were her own child! She wouldn't have done that if you were a monster! You're my brother, and I love you. I would know if you were evil. You may have been in the past, but now you are good. Better than some of the soldiers that fight for you! Get out of your pit of self pity and stop beating yourself up for things in the past. There is evil in you, but you have overcome it."

Einderan looked into her eyes, and she knew that she was looking right into her mind. She didn't try to stop him. She felt his gentle presence searching for evidence that would suggest she was lying to him.

He found none. She was telling the truth. Einderan stood up, and embraced her, "Thank you. You have no idea how much that means."

"Why did you lie to me though?"

"I was ashamed. I still am. I came within a hairs breadth of becoming the next Trigon the Terrible. I'm the reason that Azarath was destroyed."

"No, that was me."

"But I could've chosen another planet. Another world."

"And you would have come to Azarath eventually. Maybe it was the work of God, bringing all the right things together in the right place to bring you back to the light."

"Maybe it was... Raven?"

"What is it?"

"I'm sure Arella is very, very proud of you."

The young sorceress felt her heart jump, and she smiled, "You think so?"

"I'm positive. Come on, you're friends might be worried."

He walked out, but then it occurred to Raven, "Wait, Einderan!"

"What?"

"Why did that storm make you so upset?"

He turned away quickly, pulling his hood over his head to hide his face further, "That's a bad memory Raven."

"Please, you've told me everything else. Why? Does it have something to do with when you said 'He already did'?"

"Yes..."

"Einderan, you can trust me."

He sighed, and looked up at the sky, "I'm sure Frista or someone has told you the story of how after you left I faced down Trigon."

"Yes. You ran me to safety, opened a portal, and pushed me through. Then according to Frista the demons began to round those still alive together into a group."

"Right. Well... Do you mind if I skip details?"

"Go ahead, I may ask again later."

"And I may be ready to tell you then. After they started rounding the people up, I went to look for Trigon. I was going to fight him, whether I had a chance of winning or not. Well, he killed Arella. Right in front of me. It was a, painful death. It enraged me to no end, and I attacked him. I was doing fairly well to. But I lost, as you can tell."

"Then you escaped with Frista and the others right?"

Einderan shook his head, "No, dead wrong. They got away alright, but me... Fate had a different path for me."

He trembled slightly, "He kept me in darkness for two years. Two years... It felt like two million years. Darkness, only interrupted for food and water. And also... Him."

Raven put her hands on his shoulders and looked up at his face, hidden in shadow, "What did he do?"

"Tortured me. He has great mastery over lightning. I can still feel the burning, the shock, the pain. The thunder still deafens me. Two years... It was Hell Raven. I can't hear or see a lightning bolt without reliving every second of it. If you wish later I'll tell you more... But this is more painful than any of my other memories."

She smiled reassuringly and nodded, "I understand. Thank you for telling me the truth."

"Let's go back. I'm going to tell everyone. It's time they found out who they are really fighting for."

END

Alright, there ya go. Einderan's dark secret. Kind of boring, I know, but come on.

And thanks to all my reviewers, you all rock!

God bless everyone!


	9. The Deceiver's Return Pt 1

1Chapter Nine: The Deceiver's Return Pt 1

"There. That's all of it."

Einderan looked around him, to his various sorcerers, sorceresses, mages, and spellcasters. Some where seated on piles of rocks, others sitting on the ground, while a few stood. They were all processing this new information in their heads. Who Einderan was...

"Monster." One of them muttered.

The son of Trigon closed his eyes and nodded, "I deserve that."

"Kalsamune." Another said.

"I deserve that to."

"So you chose Azarath, you chose to attack our home so you could gain the support of enough demons to overthrow Trigon? It was all just a game to you?"

"In all honesty, it was."

One of the sorcerers stood, shaking his head, "I... I don't get it. Why did you tell us this?"

"You deserve to know, who you are fighting for."

"So, how do we know that this isn't a trick? How do we know that you aren't leading us to fight Trigon along side you, just so you can take his place?"

Einderan's body trembled slightly, and he painfully told him, "I know that you may find it hard to trust me, knowing what I am. And more so because I kept it hidden. But please, believe when I say I have changed from the demon I used to be. If I had wanted to take Trigon's place I would have found it easy to do, you were going to follow me to the very darkness from where he came. But... It was too much. I didn't want to lie anymore. And... You all should know who you fight for, who I really am. What I was... I'm not like that anymore, but I know that it's still inside me, and always will be. I can do nothing to change that. And I also know, that knowing that I'm even more responsible for the destruction of Azarath than even my sister... Whatever you decide I understand."

The response was immediate. Kians, the sorcerer prince of Mystell, stood up, "As long as you oppose Trigon, I will fight at your side. If you had been planning to destroy us you would have done so long ago. I don't care what you were, what matters is what you are. Will you betray us to your father?"

Einderan's head shot up, and he glared at Kians, "No! I would never do that!"

"Good. That's all I need to know."

Kians looked around, glanced to his brother who shrugged, then both walked away. No more words needed to be said for them.

Frista stood up, and said to Einderan, "You are what you are. Just because we didn't know your past doesn't change that it was still your past, and is your past. We have fought and died under your command, and you have yet to fail us. Thank you for sharing with us the truth, but this changes nothing."

"Nothing? What do you mean this changes nothing? He's been lying to us for-"

"And now he has told us the truth. Quite honestly I think it took a lot of courage to tell us like this."

"He's let his sister take the blame for something he was responsible for!"

"No."

They turned to Raven, who was shaking her head slowly, "We are evenly to blame. He chose the world to attack... I opened the door. Even after spending two and a half centuries with our father, I still believe he is a better person than a few of you here..."

Her gaze fell to several, who glared back. They were mainly the ones who had harassed her for being the one to open the portal to Azarath for Trigon to come through. A rather awkward, tense, and hostile silence followed.

Einderan was looking at his sister, mouth gaping at her. Two reasons. One, he hadn't sensed her arrival, which was odd. And two... did she just take the blame for something that was in all honesty entirely his fault?

"Raven, while I do appreciate the thought and support, did you have to insult them?" Einderan whispered to her as she approached.

"It's the truth. Sometimes the truth hurts." She replied coldly.

"You know what, this is pointless." A sorceress exclaimed suddenly, standing up and brushing some dust off her cloak, "We all know that no one here is going to desert, rebel, or anything of that nature. Yes, you were a bad person. Alright. Now you're not. If either of you could have done anything to stop your father I believe you would have. It was only a matter of time before Trigon came, that we all know for certain. And if things hadn't worked out the way they did, we would be slaves working in some God forsaken quarry, making statues and tributes to who knows what. Einderan could have been well on his way to power if he wanted to be, but he chose to follow his human side, a choice none of us have truly had to make. We have never been around demons, we have been raised human by humans. And he chose to forsake power, glory, and the chance to possibly rule the mortal realm. I don't think many of us would have made the same decision. Thanks for letting us know Einderan, I believe this meeting is done."

Many of them agreed and flew/walked/teleported away to go about their business. Even those who were know hostile to Einderan grudgingly accepted it and left.

"Why did you do that?" asked Einderan, glancing down to his sister.

"Do what?"

"I'm the one responsible for Azarath, not you."

"Like I said, I'm the one who opened the door. If it weren't for me Trigon wouldn't have been able to invade like he did. And besides, no one realizes who is truly to blame. Father. But since they insist on blaming us, we should split it evenly, as good siblings should."

"You say that, but you still feel all the guilt on your shoulders." Einderan told her.

"So do you."

The two just looked into each other's eyes for a long time. Looking for something to say. It was Einderan who finally spoke, "We may only be half human, but we have all of their oddity. We both feel like the destruction of Azarath rests solely on us, and that the other had no part in the matter. But we know that isn't true."

"I guess we're just weird that way."

"No, I honestly think it's just me and you." Einderan thought a moment, then asked, "By the way, how did you arrive without me knowing?"

A sly grin spread across her face. She turned and told him while walking away, "Did you really think hiding that spell book in a sub-space pocket would keep me from getting to it?"

He froze, then hit himself in the head in frustration, "Argh! Will you stop stealing that stupid book!"

"Why?"

"Because! You're starting to get on my nerves!"

"Oh, add that to the list of things that would make me sad if I cared." She shot back, with a cold tone that actually made Einderan shiver.

"I hate it when you do that."

She would have hit him with another comeback strait from the arctic, but her communicator went off.

"Hello."

"Raven?"

"Yeah."

"Where are you?"

"Um... A few miles outside Jump City, why?"

"Well, you've been gone for a full day now... We were getting worried."

"Why didn't you just try to call me?"

"That's the thing. Your communicator wasn't even showing up on the tracking system until a few minutes ago. Something was jamming it."

Raven glared at Einderan, who shrugged uncomfortably, "What?"

"It was just my brother. His powers must have messed with the transmitter when they were out of control. Or else he was doing it on purpose. Is there something wrong Robin?"

"No, well, Starfire... But what else is new?"

Suddenly the Tameranian's face appeared on the screen, "Friend Raven! You are unharmed! It is glorious to see you!"

"Starfire, I haven't been gone that long."

"Yes, but when your communicator did not respond and we could not locate you, I began to worry something might have happened with the Mael Kirheinse."

Einderan scoffed and paced back and forth, "You know, it almost sounds as if they don't remember I was with you the entire time."

"I was with Einderan, he can handle Mael."

Starfire's mouth formed an 'o' of realization, then she began to scratch the back of her head uncomfortably, putting on a fake smile, "Hehe, sorry."

"See! There was no reason for you to go crashing through the wall!" Cyborg's voice yelled from the background.

"Ya! My wall I might add! Do you know how many birds I have in my room now!"

"Uh, man, that's because your room has so much crud in it, it looks like an all you can eat buffet to them."

"Hey, my room isn't that messy!"

"Beast Boy, I saw the birds carrying away ten pizza boxes, that had stuff still in them!"

"Ya, well, you have oil all over your room!"

"Uh, no I don't."

"... I'm going to take a ride in the T-car!"

"WHAT? No! Not my baby!"

The screen fell, as they heard Starfire yell after them, "Friends! Stop the mean talking and threatening!"

Robin picked up the communicator and his face was shown again, "Raven, I have now realized you are the only sane one here besides me."

"Just now figuring that out?"

"Get back here before they brake something else."

"Right."

Einderan watched, arms crossed, "Are they always like that when you aren't around?"

"Probably. And most of the time when I'm around. They were acting good for a while, but now they are used to you. Start getting ready for this kind of thing."

"I pity you."

"Save your pity, you'll need it for when Beast Boy tries to pull a prank on you."

"A what?"

"You'll figure it out. Come on, I think that explosion was from Titan's Tower."

LATER, AT TITAN'S TOWER...

Einderan walked in first. He didn't know why Raven didn't want to, but didn't think much of it until Starfire started crushing him in a Tameranian bear hug.

"Why, is, she, attacking, me?"

"Friend Einderan! You have returned!"

"You, have, three seconds, before I start to defend myself."

"Friend, what do you mean?" Then she noticed the look of pain on his face, "Oh, sorry."

He gasped for air and went down on his knees, "What was that?"

"Starfire when she's happy to see you."

Einderan glared as his sister walked by, "I am beginning to loath your presence."

"Better than being squashed by Starfire."

"Forgive me friend, I, do not know my own strength?"

"Out of curiosity, of all the times that I've walked into this building, why was this so special?"

"Like I said Einderan, she's used to you now. Robin can tell you, when me and Starfire first met..."

The Tameranian laughed uncomfortably, "Yes, that was an... Interesting meeting... I asked if she wanted to be friends, and she said 'no'. Sadly, I barely had the basics of your language, and thought that meant 'yes'."

"Oh... That couldn't have ended well." Einderan said, smiling slightly.

"It didn't..."

"The city was, how do you say, trashed? After they finally managed to stop us. Forgive me, but I have grown cautious of myself when around those like Raven. But you are my friend, and now I have confirmation of it! You have accepted the Tameranian hug of friendship!"

"Wait, you mean you have a name for it?" Raven asked. She just thought it was something Starfire did.

"Of course friend. It is the traditional way of Tameran for making friends."

"And you keep doing it why?"

"To reconfirm the friendship!"

Einderan shook his head and walked on past. That was information he would forget later, of that he was certain. Raven had made strange friends, his stay had confirmed that. Not that she had much choice in the matter when all things were considered... He had yet to meet any of this 'Justice League' besides Batman though. He really wanted to meet Jonn, the one they called the Martian Manhunter. Sounded like a fascinating person to talk to.

"Hey."

Robin came up and started walking beside him, "Hello."

"So, are you alright now?"

"Sorry about that... How much damage did I do?"

"You managed to get out before you caused a lot, but the living room was trashed. Of course, with Cyborg in the house everything was working again in about an hour. I had to clean up of course..."

"That is always the way."

"Ya... You and Raven seem to be pretty close... She was about ready to attack us if we followed her."

"Honestly if you had you would've only been putting yourself in danger. She is really the only one who can understand... Even the others aren't really like us, half demon or not."

"Ya, I've been meaning to ask about that... How are so many of you half demon?"

Einderan grimaced, "Well... It was one of those 'Trigon did it, so let's all do it' things. What, you think Raven was the only half demon born from Trigon's raids? No, she was merely the first to be discovered. After her mother was found out many women came forward. Hence the term, 'raped and pillaged'. We were all outcasts, but us more so than the others. The ones who really get on about Raven and the prophecy are the full humans. The ones like Frista, who understand are for the most part half-demon. Funny isn't it? The ones with demon blood being the more understanding..."

"Sounds like you have a lot of history."

The sorcerer laughed at the irony of that, "You have no idea. No idea at all. But yes, I do half a lot of history. Where was I... Oh yes, the half demons among the Azarathians are generally better about us. Actually most of the people don't blame Raven at all. Just the ones who are childish enough to need a scapegoat to blame. Oh yes, I have something I want to tell all of you, if you'll meet me in the 'living room' later. Thanks."

"Alright, see you then."

LATER

Einderan was nodding to himself. Overall, the day had gone better than he had first anticipated it would. He had officially told everyone that mattered his story, and so far no one had tried to kill him.

He was happy with that. More than happy, he was ecstatic. Alright, not really, but his spirits were higher than he thought they would be. Maybe it was because he could finally say anything he wanted without fearing being found out.

He had two and a half centuries of knowledge that he had to keep locked up. That's a lot. Being able to talk about things felt good.

Raven was reading some book of her's. Wait, that reminded him, "Raven?"

"What is it?"

"My book, if you don't mind."

"What book?"

"Don't play dumb, you stole it, I want it back."

"I don't know what you're talking about."

"Raven, you told me you had it earlier."

"Did I?"

"Sister, don't make me go into your room. I know that I don't want to know what I would find, but I believe that perhaps some of your friends might? Especially one about five feet tall and green all over?"

His sister's jaw dropped a moment, then she glared a glare that would have made Trigon himself cower in fear, "You wouldn't dare."

However, Einderan knew exactly what he was doing, and replied cooly, "Oh yes I would. I may not have been on this world long, but I do believe some things are embarrassing in all cultures."

She grumbled and closed her book, gliding towards her room. Einderan followed behind her, walking. He felt in no hurry. He just wanted to get his book and go... somewhere. Anywhere. Just be alone for a while.

Raven opened the door, then motioned for him to come inside. He did so slowly, and cautiously. He had never been in Raven's room, for several reasons. One, he didn't want to see how mad she would be if she found him in her room messing with things. Two, if he teleported into the room while she was changing... Awkward and not something he wanted to do. And finally third, it wasn't polite to go into someone's room unless they're there.

Einderan wasn't disappointed with the dark, occult style around him. Though, it did seem a bit overly dark, "And you wonder why you have nightmares dear sister? Though, it does suit you."

"And that's supposed to mean?" She asked angrily."

"You put on a mask of cold emotionlessness, but you go a little deeper under the surface..." He picked up what looked like a blue crystal and waved a hand over it. It glowed brightly, and gave off a small bit of warmth, "And you find that there's more to it than meets the eye. By the way, where did you get this? I haven't seen a Flame Sapphire in twelve years."

"This world is surprisingly rich in magical items and books, if you know where to look." Raven told him, walking over to her book shelf. She ran her hand lightly over the books, pulling out one then retrieving another behind it, "Here you go."

"Honestly, you insult me. You just hid it behind another book?"

"Like you were going to find it." Raven commented, turning around. Then something caught her eye. There was an empty spot. She moved the books back and forth, but saw nothing. Then she noticed another book gone.

Wait, those two have something in common... What?

Then she couldn't find another book, then another, and she began to grow frustrated, "Alright, someone has been in my things."

"What?"

"There are some books missing."

"It wasn't me."

"I know that. Another one! Wait, these books are connected somehow... No, no..."

Her head shot up, and her eyes went wide, "Look, please, look around, see if you can find them anywhere!"

Einderan caught the panic in her voice and glanced around, lifting up objects with his powers and searching behind things as his sister frantically ripped books from their shelves as she realized which all ones were missing. They were the books that she used to...

"God, please God no..." She muttered under her breath, and she ran to the chest she kept next to the wall, and pulled it open. Her face paled.

"Raven, what's wrong-"

He was cut off by one of the most ear-splitting screams he had ever heard.

123456789123456789123456789

I know, I know, I'm evil. But I have to have something to keep you coming back right?

Another cliff hanger. Heh, I'm so bad I'm good.

Can any of you figure out what is freaking Raven out so bad? I kinda made it obvious, but if you can tell me in a review, I'll send Einderan over with a signed copy of his spell book that Raven keeps stealing!

Einderan: Hey!

Me: What?

Einderan: That's my book!

Me: And you're my character! So there! If they guess the book is theirs!

Einderan: 'sniffles and starts crying in a corner'

Me: Oh get up you big baby!

Ya, that was pointless. One question, how did you like Raven's come back line? Made by yours truly, me! I can't help it, it's just that good, I'm going to post it again!

"Add that to the list of things that would make me sad if I cared."

Man, did someone open a window cause it just got cold in here! Really, what did you think of it? I have more, but I want to know what you thought of that one before I use the others.

Anyway, God bless you all.

Professor Curly-


	10. The Deceiver's Return Pt 2

1Chapter Ten: The Deceiver's Return Pt 2

Cyborg was the first one in Raven's room, sonic cannon drawn. He saw a hysteric Raven trashing her room, and a confused Einderan trying to calm her down.

The metal man had to dodge to the side as Raven flung her entire bed to the side, right out her door. Beast Boy, Robin, and Starfire only just managed to get out of the way.

Blue cloak fluttering behind her, she walked up to Cyborg and pleaded, "Please, tell me this is some sort of sick joke. Where is it? Where is he?"

"Raven, I don't know what you're talking about. I haven't been in your room since the whole magic mirror thing. What's wrong?"

She broke down into tears, and fell back onto the floor. Cyborg and Einderan caught her, and her brother said sternly, "Raven, calm down and tell us what's going on."

As if by magic (It probably was), her face calmed slightly, and she told them in a still shaky voice, "T-the books. A-and... Him... They're gone."

"Who are you talking about?"

"...Malchior."

And with that she started crying again, and not even Einderan's most powerful magic could hope to stop her.

LATER, AFTER SEVERAL CUPS OF COFFEE/HERBAL TEA/WHATEVER...

Raven had calmed down after a while, and sat in the living room. She was thinking, trying to figure out what might have happened to the books.

"Sister... What happened?"

She knew what he was referring to. And even though she didn't want to..., "I had found a book, the chronicles of a magician knight named Malchior, who fought and sealed a terrible dragon. But, it seemed that Malchior in the process of defeating the dragon, had to seal himself into the book. I talked to him, the spirit in the book... He was the first person to... In so long... I fell in love with him. There was no mistake, I loved him. He made me feel, not out of place. He was the only one..."

Einderan stood, nodding his head slightly.

"I wanted to help him... He began to teach me spells, incantations... It was powerful magic, too powerful for me, dark magic... But I didn't care. I trusted him, loved him, and... I would have done any spell or chant to help him. That's what he was doing, helping me prepare to release him from the book. And I did..."

Tears began to run down her face, so he put a hand on her shoulder comfortingly, "Then what?"

"I was an idiot. I should have seen it all along..."

"What?"

"Malchior wasn't the name of the magician, it was the name of the dragon. The magician was named Rorek, and he had sealed Malchior in the book... And I let him out. He made me fall in love with him, just to escape..." She paused a moment, took a deep breath, then continued, "I did manage to send him back into the book, but it was a close thing."

"And now the book that holds this 'Malchior', and several others have gone missing. Any idea what could've happened to them?"

"No... I had that chest sealed. Those books though, they were the ones I used in the ceremony to release Malchior... Along with some other ingredients... But I'm quite sure that I'm the only one on this world that could have the power to summon Malchior. I'm the only one that even knows how."

"Who could've stole it then? None of your friends, they seem to understand that would not be appropriate. Not any of my people... In fact, the only time someone could've stolen them was either last night or during..."

Raven's hand instinctively shot up to where Mael had cut off some of her hair...

_**FLASH BACK**_

_**Raven screamed in fury and launched everything she had at him. It either bounced off or was stopped before impact. Mael was chuckling, "So close now. It won't be long..."**_

_**She stopped her attack, seeing that it wasn't working, "What won't be long, demon?"**_

"_**So many things dear Princess Rasemune. So many things."**_

_**At that moment the demon shot forward, summoning up his black sword. Raven tried to raise her barrier, but knew it wouldn't form in time, and her reactions were going to slow to dodge. **_

_**She saw the blade come closer, and closer, then she closed her eyes. **_

_**She felt the wind of the blade go by, not even centimeters from her head. She was motionless for a moment, then opened her eyes, dazed. **_

_**Mael caught the hairs he had cut as they fell, grasping them firmly in hand. **_

"_**Kirheinse!" Einderan yelled as he teleport to the scene, ready to fight. **_

_**Mael raised the hairs, and grinned at Raven, "My battle trophies. Sorry our meeting was cut short princess, I hope we don't see each other any time soon."**_

_**END FLASHBACK...**_

"Oh no... That's why he attacked... Kirheinse is going to summon Malchior! That's why he just got a few strands of my hair..."

"And if he had killed you, the magic would be forfeit. Darn you Kirheinse, blasphemous dog..."

"We have to stop him." Raven said, standing up, "Mael holds the book. And if he summons Malchior, I don't think any of us can stop him." She looked her brother dead in the eyes, "Not even you."

Einderan smiled bitterly, "We'll see about that."

"Brother, you don't understand. Malchior is over a thousand years old, and he's had nothing to do but learn. He's a dragon, the likes of which hasn't been seen in six hundred years. This isn't some half rate demon lackey or some conjurer of cheap tricks. I managed to catch him by surprise and send him back into the book. But Mael has the book, and I highly doubt that Malchior would fall for that again. I don't see how any of us can defeat him..."

"Raven." Einderan said softly, trying to get her to stop talking.

"I don't know if even together... We might stand a chance, but... It's slim..."

"Raven, don't worry. Have some trust, in me, your friends, my friends. Remember, it doesn't matter how dark, evil, or powerful something is, we've faced worse."

She laughed a little, "Ya, calling our family 'dysfunctional' would be understating an understatement."

"Alright, I believe this will be it. If Malchior is as strong as you say, then I doubt that Mael has any better weapons to use against us. Maybe this time I can finally send him back where he belongs..."

"You'll have to get through Malchior first."

LATER

Frista looked out over Jump City, noting where there were soldiers searching. Einderan had a feeling that Mael would perform the summoning somewhere close, so they had begun to sweep the city. Some other scouts were sent around to the areas around the city, just in case. But for some reason a feeling deep in Frista's gut told her, they weren't going to find Mael.

And to top it off, Einderan had suddenly dissapeared. And he did this every time he knew a battle was coming. She wasn't as worried as she was the first time (They had all been in a panic for a while), but she still felt fear nagging at her. What if he didn't come back this time?

But he always came. And he was ready to fight. That's what had happened every time so far before a fight, he went off to be alone and do whatever it was he did to get ready. Normally it was for an hour, maybe two.

They were coming up on five hours now. Either something was wrong with him, or he was really, really worried about this fight.

Raven had told her about what they would face. Malchior, a dragon sorcerer. Dragons... She had heard of them of course, but had never actually seen one. No one had ever seen one, they had been driven from Azarath long ago. But she really didn't want to see a dragon, and certainly didn't want to fight one. But if Einderan was that worried...

No, she couldn't think like that. It would help no one.

Of course, when a flash of light erupted from somewhere in the city, she couldn't think of anything that she could to help anyone.

ELSEWHERE

Raven was knocked back by the force of the spell. She had found Mael, but too late. She looked up into the sky in horror, as a huge black creature took form. It's wings burst outward, and it gave a roar that would've made a deaf man cringe.

Slade and Mael looked up at the creature, both actually impressed.

"Such power..."

"I had heard of this dragon, but I didn't believe it would be as powerful as this..." Slade commented.

"Ah, freedom. It is such a sweet thing." The dragon said, laughing darkly.

"Malchior, I have given you your freedom, now what about your part of the bargain?" Mael asked, recovering from his shock, and getting back to business.

"Well, now that I'm free, why should I listen to you?"

"Would you like to go back in the book, dragon?"

"Ha! I won't fall for that a third time!"

"I don't have to trick you. You have never seen anyone as powerful as I am." Mael countered cooly.

"Oh? And yet you need me to destroy these pitiful 'rebels' of yours?"

Slade looked over, and saw Raven, staring open mouthed in horror at the dragon. Smirking underneath his mask, Slade told them, "I do believe we have a rather special guest Lieutenant."

Malchior and Mael both looked to where he directed. Mael smiled devilishly, "Ah, Princess Rasemune. I trust you know our new friend here?"

"Ah, dear sweet Raven. You've been a very bad girl you know. Locking me back into that infernal book, tsk tsk tsk. But I believe I will have great fun punishing you."

Mael stopped him with a wave of the hand, "No, this little brat is mine."

"And since when do you give me orders, demon?"

The demon-sorcerer looked up at Malchior, "Don't worry, I'll let you finish her. But I have a score to settle with her you see."

"Ha! Alright, but if my sweet Raven is dead when you're finished I will rip you apart." Malchior said, his tone unnerving in it's casualness.

"If only you could dragon, if only you could."

Suddenly, Raven sprang back to life, and she lashed out at Mael. Catching him off guard, she lifted him into the air, and flung him right into Slade. While they were sprawled on the ground, she flew over, and grabbed Malchior's book. She glided away quickly, but was caught by Malchior's tail, and was sent hurtling to the ground.

The dragon lifted the book from the ground with his powers, and tucked it safely underneath one of his scales, "Sweet Raven, surely you aren't still angry about last time are you? I was locked up in that book for over a thousand years, so I was perhaps a bit overly anxious about getting out, but still..." He said, mockingly. Raven stood up, and glared at him.

"Not this time! You aren't going to trick me this time you monster!"

"Monster? Now you've gone and hurt my feelings."

He was suddenly standing before her, but as a man. Like she had pictured him, in white armor with a large 'M' on the chest plate. Lanky, long hair trailing behind him.

But those eyes were the same, the same eyes as the dragon.

His voice had changed as well, to the one he had used to trick her, "Sweet fair maiden, do not fear. I mean no ill will towards you."

"The feeling isn't mutual Malchior!" She screamed, and hurled a piece of debris at him, but it shattered before impact.

"Hahahaha, you can't hurt me my dear Raven."

"But we can!" Kians, the sorcerer from Mystell yelled to him.

Malchior suddenly found his arms wrapped in black whips of magic, and he was being torn in a vicious game of tug-of-war.

"Hmmm... Whip masters of Mystell yes? I must say, I haven't seen your magic in quite a long time, but I notice that it hasn't grown any stronger."

Red electricity ran up the whips, and hit the two sorcerers, braking the spell and sending them both flying.

"A shame really. Such potential... wasted on the weak. Don't you think my sweet Raven?"

The half demon sorceress however, didn't answer. He glanced over, only to be caught in the path of a large bus, which sent him crashing into the ground.

"I'm not your 'sweet Raven' any more you lying dog!"

The dust cleared, and Malchior stood, still as a human, unscathed, "Now, now Raven, we must watch that temper of yours."

Suddenly Frista and about twenty spellcasters appeared all around the street, surrounding Malchior. He glanced around casually, chuckling, "Quantity over quality is it? I'm disappointed Raven."

Mael walked up beside the dragon in human form, "Remember, you take care of these pests, while I entertain the princess."

"But of course. Good bye for now sweet Raven, we will be talking again soon." Malchior waved, and then jumped into the air, turning into his massive dragon form instantly. The various sorcerers/spellcasters looked up at it in awe and horror.

"Hahahahaha, foolish mortal beings, DIE!"

Dragon fire swept the area, forcing a quick retreat from everyone. But as Raven landed, a strong hand grabbed her wrist, "Where do you think you're going Princess Rasemune?"

However, for some reason the demon couldn't fathom, she smiled. It was a confident, almost cocky smile. And considering the situation that he had her in, it was totally out of place.

So much so that it unnerved Mael.

"You really are slow aren't you? Azarath Metreone Zinthos!"

He was surrounded in a black aura, but for some reason he could not brake free. He watched in surprise as the ground suddenly became very far away, and he rocketed up into the sky.

Mael slammed into something hard, and heard a grunt of surprise.

"Demon! What are you doing?" Malchior asked, knocking the smaller figure off.

"Looks like the princess has learned some new tricks." Mael told him, preparing to fly back down.

"Honestly, if you can not defeat her..."

"Hehehehe... There is no one on this world that can defeat me. She merely caught me by surprise."

Three spells were sent upwards, but they merely bounced off the dragon's thick scales, "These pests aren't even an annoyance. But I must say, they are providing quite good sport. I've never seen humans scamper away this quickly."

Mael smiled sadistically, "Oh, by all means entertain yourself. After all, we already have victory do we not? There is no way that they can stop me, Slade, and you!"

"This is true. But still, I was hoping for perhaps something that resembled a challenge."

"Then wait until the leader of these rebels arrives. He will provide challenge enough." Mael told the dragon, then descended back to the city.

The dragon chuckled, "I do hope so."

Then he noticed that he was now surrounded by no less than fifty mages, hovering uncertainly around him.

"Hmmm... What do you do now dear children? You see, no matter your numbers, you have never before faced an opponent like me."

They waited, gathering their energies for a simultaneous assault. Then on an unspoken signal, they unleashed all the power they had into the dragon.

He felt no pain, merely a pleasant tingling from the withering barrage.

"You'll have to do better than that!" He yelled, releasing a black wave from his body, knocking them away and out of the air. But most caught themselves, and those that didn't got back up almost emmediatly.

"Well, you're persistent, I'll give you that.". Then Malchior chuckled, and with an unexpectedly strong rush of energy smashed everything within five hundred yards of him strait down. Buildings crumbled, people ran yelling and screaming, and above it all Malchior laughed maliciously.

He saw a young, gray cloaked sorceress stumble to her feet, dazed. The dragon smiled, and gave a roar to fill the bravest of hearts with terror. Flames issued forth from his mouth, in a deadly column that would singe bone into a crisp.

Frista looked up in horror, knowing that no spell or incantation she could use would stop dragon fire. She closed her eyes, calmly accepting her fate.

Raven watched in horror from a short distance away as her friend was consumed in the torrent of flame. The flames traveled outward like a wave, melting and burning without mercy.

A hazy smoke arose from the magical flames, filling the air with a fog that no one's sight could penetrate.

Malchior was laughing, sadistic and evil. Nothing could hope to stand in his way. And when he was done with these incompetent fools he would turn his attention to the demon and the undead spirit. No one would stop him this time.

Out of no where a strong breeze began to blow, dispelling the fog into wisps of smoke on the wind. Malchior's laughter ceased.

There, sitting wide eyed in shock, was Frista. Completely unharmed. Around her shimmered an almost transparent blue shield. And there was no logical source for it.

"What trickery is this?"

Then he noticed a figure hovering in the air. Black cloak billowing in the wind, face hidden under the shadow of the hood.

He looked like every other sorcerer there. But there was something different... What?

The cloaked figure started drifting closer, and said softly, "Frista, tell Kians he's in charge for now. Get everyone out of here, I'll try to lead him away."

Frista was still shocked, and only just heard the voice, but nodded and flew to complete the orders.

Malchior regarded the approaching figure with arrogance, and a bit of confusion, "One? You expect to face me alone, after I defeat fifty of you at once? Are you daft? Do you know who I am?"

"No, and I honestly don't care." The soft voice replied venomously.

"You will. I am the dread dragon Malchior, the greatest and most powerful of the ancient dragons. My wings cast a shadow of ever lasting night, and when the dawn finally rises there is only scorched earth and burnt corpses! I have faced armies of the greatest heroes of this realm and laughed at their pitiful attempts to slay me. There is no magic I have not learned, no spell I have not mastered. I am the future master of this and every world, if you bow down to me I may let you and your pitiful excuse for fighters live."

"You really enjoy the sound of your own voice. Personally it's going to be a pleasure to silence you, permanently if necessary."

The dragon burst out laughing at the insolence of this boy, "Hahahahaha! Foolish mage, Rorek of Noll couldn't kill me, and he was the greatest human sorcerer ever to walk! He could only bind me to that book, which I now hold. How do you propose to silence me?"

"So Mael did not tell you anything about who I am?"

"Ah, you're the one leading this rebellion. Against who, I do not know and frankly do not care. So, no really I guess I don't know anything about you."

"Good. Then allow me to introduce myself. My name is Einderan Roth." He said, bowing. When he straitened up, he continued, "Though before I was known as Einderan Kalsamune. Son of Trigon the Terrible."

"You lie."

"Hehe, do I? Former general of my father's legions, taught and tutored by Trigon himself in the arts of magic and the occult."

Malchior actually felt his blood, dragon blood, run cold hearing this. He readied himself, because he instinctively could tell that this was no bluff. However, after a moment, the dragon regained composure and said calmly, "Please child, I don't care who you're father is."

"Sent to the magic city Azarath to insure it's fall, but lost my memory. Raised by Arella of Azarath, and taught further into the magical arts, and the powers of the mind. You call me child dragon, but I am almost three hundred years old."

"And I am well over a thousand!"

"The first, last, and only person to ever rebel against Trigon, the Ender of Worlds. And the only one to ever face him one on one in battle and live to tell the tale. Now, do you wish to surrender or must we delay the inevitable."

Now the dragon sorcerer was angry, "You fool! You are nothing! The rebellious son to a washed up demon overlord. You think I care who your father is or that you fought him and lived. Ha, you disgust me. Bragging about your past, I hope you've enjoyed this because I do believe it's time for you to die!"

"Is that panic I hear in your voice? Is it possible that the 'dread dragon' Malchior is afraid?"

"Insolent dog! I'll make sure your death is a slow and painful one!"

"I don't see what my sister could possibly have seen in you..."

Malchior was taken aback, "Raven is your sister? She is a daughter of Trigon?"

"Oh, is the big bad dragon even more scared now? The wrath of a woman scorned and the wrath of a daughter of Trigon."

"Oh, I'm petrified."

Suddenly four red eyes appeared from under the hood, and Einderan said in a cold manner, "You broke my sister's heart. You have caused her pain. This is not something I will forgive. Now face my wrath dragon, let's see how long you fare."

Malchior quickly created a ball of energy, and shot it at Einderan, who didn't even move. The spell hit full on, but with no effect. The dragon wizard's eyes opened wider, "But how?"

"It's time for us to begin. If you believe in God, start praying. If not, you may want to start reconsidering you're beliefs." Einderan said calmly, his body being surrounded in a black aura.

Malchior gritted his teeth and replied, "You will die for your insolence you disrespectful demon spawn."

"Then kill me. If you can."

END CHAPTER TEN

Ha, ya I know it was boring there until the end, but next chapter...

Einderan vs Malchior!

Oh, and it seems more than one person guessed what was happening. So, you all get a signed copy of the spell book that Raven keeps stealing from Einderan!

Einderan: But there's only one book stupid.

Me: (Glares, then smiles sadistically) Then you'd better get to copying then shouldn't you!

Einderan: What? You want me to copy the entire thing?

Me: Get to it.

Einderan: Can I use the photocopier?

Me: (Grabs baseball bat) Now!

Einderan: (Runs into corner and starts whimpering)

Me: (Sigh) Sadly, I guess none of you get a copy of the book, since I'm too lazy to copy it myself. Sorry.

Midnightmare: Hey!

Jordanals: Ya! What about us?

Me: Well... Hey get out of my Fanfiction!

(The two reviewers run off as I shoot flaming lasers from my eyes)

Ah, another pointless end of chapter skit. Oh, and here's another comeback. I shall start calling these:

RAVEN'S COMEBACKS OF THE DAY

Today's is...

"To bad, so sad. Go cry me a river, and DROWN IN IT!"

Yes, I am evil...

Anyway, next chapter is going to be the most awesome, coolest, most action packed mage battle since... ever.

God bless

Professor Curly-


	11. Einderan VS Malchior

1Chapter Eleven: Einderan vs Malchior

Einderan stared at Malchior.

Malchior stared at Einderan.

One was a fierce dragon sorcerer bent on conquest, with over a thousand years of knowledge and experience to go along with his already overwhelmingly potent physical attributes.

One was a half demon mage bent on defeating his father, with two hundred years of training by what could not be denied as one of the best mentors of the magical arts he could ask for, making up for his somewhat lacking in comparison physical abilities.

"You will die for your insolence you disrespectful demon spawn!"

"Then kill me. If you can."

For a span of about a second, there was no sound, from anywhere. Silence, dead as the grave and just as imposing.

"Kaile Aiu Lod!"

"Derta Merat Taer!"

Ice flew from Einderan's palms, flying strait towards the dragon's head. However, before it got half way there a jet of blue fire shot from the dragon's right hand, and in between them was the classic battle of magic, between fire and ice.

Steam exploded from where the two elements met, filling the air with a fog that would serve only to block the battle from the view of those below.

The half-demon charged forward, getting closer to the monster he faced. As he went, his body was slowly covered by the black aura as before, mimicking armor until his entire being was protected.

Malchior slashed down with his clawed hand, and almost went into shock when it seemed to have no effect on Einderan at all. The dragon growled, and let loose stream of fire at the sorcerer, who quickly dodged to the side. Weaving, staying close to the dragon, Einderan avoided giving his opponent the chance to hit. The two whirled, rolled, spun, forming an intricate yet deadly dance of sorts.

The half demon skimming just over Malchior's scales, while Malchior tried to singe Einderan to a crisp using his dragon fire. So far, Einderan was the more successful in that he had yet to be hit.

The son of Trigon almost didn't see it coming when Malchior's scales became a smooth surface, which exploded outwards, carrying Einderan with it. He caught himself, and put up an extra barrier to stop the fire that threatened to consume him.

Malchior began to laugh, spraying fire in every direction, finally focusing his deadly flames strait down towards the ground for a while. Einderan used this apparent lack of judgement to lunge strait towards the dragon, right over his arced neck and found himself right where he wanted to be, between the beast's wings.

With a move that would have made any whip master of Mystell proud, Einderan lashed out with both of his arms, black whips stretching out and wrapping around the base of the dragon's wings.

The sorcerer cried out in shock and pain as Einderan twisted in mid air, increasing the tension between the two whips, and standing on the dragon's back as if riding a common beast of burden. With a sudden burst of genius, the half demon flew away from the dragon, keeping the whips firm, and let his power flow through the magical weapons. Malchior screamed again as the pain hit, and he lost feeling in his wings for a moment. Einderan used this to his advantage, and swung the massive creature around in a huge circle, picking up momentum with every rotation, finally hurling the dragon strait down with all his magical might.

Einderan rocketed down after the dragon, finding it struggling to regain control, since it's ability to fly without it's wings (With magic or without) was severely limited.

However, as he came down beneath the clouds, he noticed something else. There was a massive battle going on below already. Between his sorcerers and the Titans, against...

What in the world were they?

Shadows, specters wearing cloaks, armor, and wielding both magic and blades.

Malchior regained control of his fall, and laughed, "Confused son of Trigon?"

"A little bit."

"Those are the shades of those who I have killed. When a person is consumed by dragon fire, their spirit is bound to the creature that destroyed them. They are summoned through the very flames that destroyed them. I thought your friends might be getting bored, so I gave them something to do."

"And here I was thinking you were just stupid when you started breathing fire strait down."

"With every person I defeat my army grows stronger..." Malchior told him, ignoring the insult, "I believe you will make a nice addition."

Einderan chuckled. It wasn't dark, or threatening, just a small chuckle at that statement. As if the half demon truly found the prospect funny.

"Blio Estade Mecon!" Malchior yelled, with a hint of satisfaction in his voice.

Nothing happened. Einderan glanced around, looking up, down, left, right, behind him, and finally back at Malchior, "I believe you mispronounced that spell dragon."

That is until something huge broke from the cover of the clouds, heading strait down towards him. Einderan glanced up, sighing. Giant asteroid.

Crap.

"Daetro Miasta!"

Einderan made a punching motion strait upwards, sending a great orb of red right at the giant rock that was descending, destroying it in a spectacular explosion before any damage could be done.

Malchior took his chance and fled, speeding away then upwards back above the clouds. Einderan gave chase, intent on defeating his opponent, or give his life trying. He was betting on the former.

Yet, as he entered the fog high above the ground, he found something odd. It seemed no matter how far up he went, he was always in the cloud. His bearings were shot, as it seemed nothing could give him a hint as to what was really up or down. He was lost, in a void of... bland grayness.

"Eysa Lusses ni Gian Kawl." He heard the dragon whisper, seemingly coming from everywhere. Cursing himself, the half demon figured out what a clever trap this was. Only thing is, there could be no way of telling who was trapped, as Malchior was also caught in this illusion fog, despite being the one who created it. Or was he?

Wait, dragon sight...

Crap!

"Frustrated? Disorientated? Afraid?" The dragon jeered, yet where the voice truly came from Einderan couldn't be certain. A special property of the fog Malchior had summoned, when you speak it comes from every direction.

"You're the one hiding in a cloud." Einderan shot back, feeling quite a bit more disoriented than before as his own voice was radiated throughout the illusion.

"And you tumble about, randomly and aimlessly, desperately trying to escape."

Sly, deadly, the dragon's voice slipped through the air, making his opponent's hair stand on end. Not that you could tell, considering Einderan was surrounded entire by black armor created from his own magical aura. But still, it was an unnerving situation to be in.

He didn't notice the shadow emerging from the dimness behind him. Right up until Malchior roared and slashed down with his clawed hands.

Einderan was sent flying forward by the strike, but not much. His armor had protected his body. The sorcerer whirled, firing off energy at random, hoping to get lucky. But, almost as soon as the blow had struck, the dragon had faded back into the fog.

The half demon took a deep breath, calming himself before anything could get out of control. His mind cleared, and then it occurred to him what to do.

Mentally slapping himself (Again), Einderan closed his eyes, and mumbled, "Let my eyes see true..."

Suddenly the outline of the sorcerer's eyes became highlighted with blue light, which eventually filled in to create to solid blue shapes in the hollow where his eyes were. Then the same thing happened over the jewel on his forehead, only that oval shape was sideways.

He couldn't see, yet he could. The fog was gone, replaced by something else. But, as he looked around, he smirked. Malchior didn't notice the glowing lights over Einderan's eye though, because of the armor covering Einderan's face. As far as the dragon was concerned, the half-demon was blind as a bat.

"Hahahaha... Are you afraid yet?"

"Afraid of what?"

"Trying to put up a front are you? Trying to fight back the fear eating away at your heart? Oh you poor lost child, it almost pains me to have to kill you. Just like it almost pained me to have to betray dear sweet Raven. Almost."

However, as Malchior charged again, Einderan let the black armor fade from his face. Malchior stared in shock at the three blue oval shaped lights in the darkness, seemingly looking right at him. This didn't last long though, as the lights faded and were instantly replaced by four glaring red eyes. Not lights, eyes. Evil eyes. Vengeful eyes.

Demon eyes.

"I'll make you feel tenfold the pain that you've caused my sister."

The dragon's huge body was suddenly flung, easily and without an effort away from Einderan, as if a great invisible fist had delivered a back hand blow. Malchior grunted in pain as the force of Einderan's rage hit him with all the force of a rampaging minotaur.

Which for those of you who are wondering, happened to be quite a lot.

Stopping to calm himself before rage could take over, Einderan smirked at the area where the dragon had been knocked towards. That had felt rather satisfying. Still, he knew that he couldn't just waste his power in that manner, letting it lash out like that. It was wasteful, and if he did it too much he could seal his own doom.

But it had felt good!

Einderan scanned his surroundings, using his powers to enhance his sight again. However, upon completing his inspection, he frowned. Malchior wasn't there?

The only warning he got was a rise in heat above his head. But that was enough for him to summon up his aura to cover his head once more, and that protected him from frying in the fireball that Malchior had launched.

The half demon cursed for falling to yet another one of Malchior's tricks, and this one wasn't even magical. It didn't take a genius to stay out of the person looking for you's line of sight. That had been a very close call.

Braking through the clouds, Einderan grimaced at the bittersweet victory of getting out of the illusion. He was out, but he was still rocketing towards the ground on the front of a white hot ball of dragon fire. At least, ya it was the ground, Einderan could feel gravity pulling in that direction.

Raven looked up to see what could've been mistaken as a falling star shoot through the clouds. Instinct told her however, that it was not a falling star. And that her brother was probably in trouble.

"You can't hide forever princess..." Mael's voice taunted, his footsteps echoing loudly. The demon was almost bursting with his evil glee. Not only was Malchior going to kill Einderan, he had an army of shades at his command to deal with the others!

Oh yes they were somewhat lacking as fighters, so for now the sorcerers were having no trouble at all, but as long as Malchior was alive... They kept fighting. It was only a matter of time before the entire force of rebels was ground to oblivion by sheer attrition.

In the meantime, he was entertaining himself with the princess, savoring her terror, "Your brother isn't coming to save you this time. No one is coming to save you."

Raven tensed, then shook her head. She had other places to be, "Azarath Metreone Zinthos!"

"Gotcha!"

However, by the time Mael was there, the violet haired sorceress was already gone. Her presence was not far off however.

"RUNNING CAN'T SAVE YOU THIS TIME!"

A huge explosion lit the city in blinding white light, followed by a roar and shockwave that shook many buildings dangerously. When the smoke cleared, there was a crater in the middle of one of the streets near the center of town.

Raven uncovered her face as the blast subsided, and ran to the edge of the crater, ignoring the heat.

Einderan got up, holding his head and stumbling around a bit, "Note to self, dragonfire, bad."

"Are you alright?" Raven asked as Einderan climbed out of the hole to stand beside her.

"I'm fine, you might want to get out of here before-"

"Hello sweet Raven."

The older of the siblings sighed, "Nevermind."

Malchior landed on a large building, looking down upon them with malicious eyes, "I hope I didn't hurt you too bad demon spawn."

Einderan scoffed, "Hurt me? You didn't even scratch me."

"Perhaps I can assist with that problem?"

Mael appeared on the building across from the one Malchior was on, also looking down on them.

"Hmmm, this is very interesting demon. We both have business with them, and here we are all in the same spot. Shall we finish them together?"

"Yes, that sounds like a great idea." Mael replied, gathering red energy around his hands and smiling at Einderan, "You have no idea how long I've waited for this 'Prince' Einderan."

"Oh I believe I do. Since the day I made a fool out of you about two hundred and sixty years ago."

"It matters not, let's kill them now!"

Yet, as the two charged their powers to fire their spells, a sound started to pierce the air. A high pitched, almost electric kind of hum (Think: Intro to the Metallica song King Nothing.)

"What is that?"

The demon and the dragon were very confused by this noise, but Raven and Einderan weren't. Well, Raven was a little bit, but she had heard this kind of noise before.)

"Took him long enough." Einderan muttered with a smile.

"Is that who I think it is?"

A dark figure appeared walking through the smoke and debris of the city. It was clear that it was holding an instrument, and was playing as it was walking. This was the source of the sound.

Then he was illuminated by the flames left over from the explosion. A face that made Mael freeze.

Kirk Shepard, though that name really didn't count right then. At that moment, he was to be called Rocker.

"Kirk?" Raven asked, flabbergasted, then looked at Einderan.

"Yes, I let him out and gave him one of the instruments he plays."

Rocker glanced over and flashed a smile to them. Using his guitar, he told them,

"_Sorry about the wait._"

"What took you so long?" Einderan asked.

"_Traffic was horrible. Cars piled up for miles. Plus you left me on that stupid island WITH NO WAY TO GET OFF!_"

Einderan flinched as the power swept over him. He was glad that the guitarist was on their side, "Alright, alright, I get it. I had to deal with this ugly beast over here."

"What? Insolent swine!" Malchior growled.

"_Whoa, that's a big lizard._"

"On that note, I believe you have some business with the other ugly beast over there." Einderan said, motioning to the other building. Rocker looked up, and narrowed his eyes when he saw Mael.

As a sadistic smile crossed his face, the guitarist told them, "_My pleasure._"

Einderan nodded, then turned to his sister, "Help him, he may need it. I have a fight to finish."

Mael, deeming this situation unfavorable, teleported away very quickly. Raven ran over to Rocker, grabbed onto his arm, and the two teleported after him.

"As interesting as that was... Kaet Intil!"

Einderan was slammed into a street lamp several blocks away as the magic hit him, as a burning sensation spread across his body.

It suddenly occurred to him, that perhaps he didn't have enough power to win. Not as it was anyway. After all, Malchior had been tossing him around pretty good so far. A thousand years more experience and knowledge was giving him an edge, not to mention that he was a dragon. And a sorcerer. And...

Man, these odds suck.

Einderan got up, debating something. Then with a confident smirk he tossed back the hood of his cloak and let all of his armor fade into nothingness.

Malchior flew over and landed in front of him, only just fitting in the street, "What's this? Giving up son of Trigon?"

The sorcerer popped his neck, then replied, "You wish. I was saving this for someone else, but I guess a test run wouldn't hurt. I'll show you my true power, you'll be the first actually. Don't you feel special?"

"I'm all warm and fuzzy inside." Malchior replied, sarcasm flowing like a river.

"That's good, you won't be feeling anything in a minute," Einderan told him, putting his arms at his sides and taking a deep breath. He gathered his powers, bringing a whirlwind around him. As he made the final preparations, he said, "The die is cast."

123456789123456789123456789

Hey hey hey, it's Professor Curly, back again with some more curly updates!

You know what, that sounds almost as good there as it does in Crazy Taxi. Who knew?

Anyway, chapter eleven. Next chapter:

Einderan goes all out!

Rocker shows Mael why you shouldn't go around handing out demonic guitars!

Raven sings again! Well, maybe... dunno yet.

The rest of the Titans show up and do their thing! Sometime...

Oh ya, how did you like the combat part of this? I mean, I can't really tell how it came out... It's something I'm trying to get down. So, how did you like the beginning of the Malchior/Einderan fight? And don't worry, critizism is welcome. I won't cry... much.

RAVEN'S COMEBACK OF THE CHAPTER!

"I would rip your head off, but there isn't anything important there."

God bless,

Professor Curly-

Nice...


	12. Einderan VS Malchior Pt 2

1Chapter Twelve: Einderan VS Malchior (I got ten on the half demon...)

"Esenatar Okera Miater,

Seiar gial Itar tra,

Loeia fomar fraitea so!"

Einderan slowly levitated into the air, the wind whipping around him at such speeds that Malchior found it difficult to remain standing. And he was feeling something that he hadn't felt in so very long.

Fear.

He had never even heard of a spell like this. He hadn't even heard the language.

When the half demon sorcerer was clear of the buildings around him, bright light of every color erupted from his body. And from this light came figures, dozens of them, in cloaks varying in color as much as the light was.

And then the wind stopped, leaving Einderan surrounded by dozens of...

Einderans?

Each wore a different color cloak, and each had a counterpart hovering across from them in the circle.

For every human emotion, a demonic one.

For every demonic emotion, a human one.

Happiness, laughing and smiling. Demon happiness, with a grin of insanity and evil.

Rage, face full of fury and anger. Demon rage, full of bloodlust and the need to kill.

Timid, rubbing his hands together uncertainly, face full of sad expectation. Demon timid, eyes closed and entire body shaking in sheer terror.

Love, looking at everything around him with a warm smile. Hate, looking at everything with a cold frown of such loathing that one wondered if anything could satisfy him.

More emotions, each with a counterpart, all of them in a circle around their master.

Einderan opened his eyes and looked around, "Ealeminus Uminos!"

The wind that had died suddenly returned, sucking everything in towards the half-demon sorcerer. And slowly in pairs, the emotions were sucked back in, trying to escape as if their life depended on it. As that's what emotions did.

They escaped.

First it was the Timids, as they didn't want to fight back anyway. Then the Happys. So on and so forth, until there were only four left.

The Rages were putting up a considerable effort to resist Einderan's will, but were slowly pulled back into his mind, back under his control.

And then there they were, the two hardest to control and most unavoidable emotions of them all.

Love and Hate.

The two untamable emotions.

You can't control what you love.

And you can't control what you hate.

Yet slowly, they to were drawn back in. Einderan gritted his teeth, and said, "If you don't help me, we won't be able to protect the ones we love..."

One of the emotion's heads shot up, and considered.

"And if you don't help me... We won't ever get revenge on the one we hate most..."

The other emotion's head looked up, and glanced at Einderan.

"You know, he does have a point."

"As much as I hate to admit it, he does. I thought he wasn't supposed to be able to control us."

"Technically he isn't really, merely influencing us."

"I hate technicalities..."

"You hate everything."

"Not everything."

"Name something."

"..."

"My point exactly.

"I didn't hate Arella..."

There was silence as Love looked at Hate, who had turned away, his fists tightening.

"Sorry to interrupt but we are about to be ashes in about ten seconds so if you two could make up your mind..." Einderan insisted, panic clear in his voice as Malchior approached.

"Oh right. I would hate to be beaten by this overgrown numbskull."

"You know what, so would I."

"But you're Love."

"Hey, doesn't mean I have to love everything."

"NOW WOULD BE A GOOD TIME!" Einderan screamed as Malchior drew in a breath for the flames.

The final two emotions flew back into Einderan's body. At that moment, a blast of fire ripped through the air, incinerating everything in it's path, consuming the half-demon's body. The heat from it melted the buildings below, the road turned back into a liquidish goo.

And Einderan was no where to be seen.

"Hahahahaha, that was an interesting fight while it lasted."

Needless to say, he wasn't expecting it when a cloaked figure drifted down right in front of him, arms crossed. Covered in armor, but this wasn't black. It was a shimmering, almost transparent blue. The black cloak swirled around his body, giving contrast to the armor.

"How?" Malchior stammered, taking step back from the newly reappeared Einderan.

"So far, you've seen me fighting at partial strength. After all, it's not possible to control all of your emotions, not completely anyway. And while I can keep from blowing anything up by accident, not even I can harness all of my emotion's power in a battle. Until now."

The dragon took another step back, and tightened his jaw. He didn't like the sound of this at all.

"My greatest achievement, the spell of bonding. Every side of me, giving all of their energy... It's really quite amazing just to feel this power... I never even knew I had it. My human power," Einderan said, holding his left hand and summoning a white orb, "And my demon power."

He held up his other hand, and created a black orb.

The dragon-sorcerer had seen enough. He took to the air, going high above Einderan, and gathered all of the strength he could into one final attack. One deadly jet of flame.

Einderan merely merged the two orbs of power together, and thought about what to do with it. A smile crept to his lips behind the armor.

"I will not be beaten by some half-spawn!"

"I'm not going to beat you, I'm going to kill you!"

Malchior glared at Einderan from high above the earth, and chanted, "Stersecra Talimat Azterwrath, Pioraln Wisantra!

The dragon fired his flame. It was black, with tendrils of energy arcing from it because the sheer power was almost too much to exist in one place. The ground shook, wind whipped through the air in a maelstrom, and anything remotely able to burn burst into flame.

And it was still hundreds of feet from hitting anything.

However, Einderan simply raised one hand, palm towards Malchior. He used his left arm to brace it. The air around him began to glow with energy...

"Nuncen Longet fu Cblek Gocme!"

A gray portal opened up, hovering inches above Einderan's right hand. The face of it was pointing right at Malchior, presenting the dragon with what looked like a flat, circular shield.

However, then six small portals open up on the inner rim of the gray one. These portals were black.

"Rofi!" Einderan yelled.

Orbs of black poured from the smaller portals, discharging at a randomly rapid rate, flying upwards at great speed. Slowly, the rate of fire increased, until it was almost as if it was a great wall of energy hurling towards the descending column of fire.

Einderan started praying right about then.

Black dragonfire met black half-demon magic.

The shockwave the two meeting created shook the entire city down to the foundations. A few of the weaker buildings fell over. Those who weren't expecting it where knocked off their feet.

For a span of ten seconds, Einderan's magic was forced back. Malchior was laughing inside his head, knowing victory was at hand.

Einderan gathered every solitary scrap of energy he had, and poured them into his spell. It switched colors, from black to the same transparent blue as his armor, which was dissipated for more energy.

This new stream of blue met the dragonfire, and neither moved for a moment. Then the blue energy plowed upwards, as if the magical flames were nothing more than paper.

Malchior watched in horror, closing his eyes just before the impact.

It hit the dragon's head full force, and was kept trained on the falling body until it was blocked from Einderan's view by the buildings. The half demon could vaguely here a crash in the distance, and cheering, but his body was far to weak to maintain such high levels of awareness. Power completely spent, along with some of his life force, his eyes drooped down lazily. A grin found it's way to his face.

Then he fell straight back onto the street, into a deep sleep of exhaustion. His last thought...

"That's, the meaning of pain..."

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Raven felt her heart leap when she saw the massive form of the dragon Malchior fall from the sky, throwing up a large cloud of dust when it slammed into the ground. And the best part?

He didn't get back up.

Mael watched in wide eyed horror as his secret weapon, his master plan literally fell out of the sky. The boy had enough power to defeat a one thousand year old dragon. A one thousand year old black dragon at that.

In fact, Malchior was over a thousand years old. And Einderan had just beat him!

But then, where was Einderan? Dead? No... It was faint but he could still sense the sorcerer's life force.

"No... I've waited for too long... I WON'T LET YOU WIN THIS TIME!" Mael screamed, running off and preparing to teleport and attack his long time rival.

A burst of energy knocked his concentration off, and he sailed through the air into a wall. He stood up, and glared at Rocker, who was smirking at him. And even though the demon wasn't much of an empath, the taunting tone of the notes were clear enough.

"_Ah, the demon's big bad lizard got taken down. That's just too bad. I might start to cry... Or not._"

Mael continued to glare, saying, "You... I gave you power, I gave you strength. I opened your eyes to the world and it's evils. And this is how you repay me?"

Rocker shook his head, his face hardening, "_Thank you? For INVADING MY SOUL WITH A DEMONIC GUITAR!_"

The demon was knocked back up against the wall, which promptly collapsed on him. After a few seconds though, the rubble shifted and Mael stood back up, "You fool. I know your limits, you can't beat me."

"_I think you need to shut up and die!_"

"Come on Kirk, I'll end your poor, twisted life."

The guitarist's eyes burned, and the air groaned with the power that was filling the air, "_Don't call me that. You don't deserve to be able to call me by my real name!_"

The lieutenant of Trigon held his ground, and chuckled, "That's it, let go of your rage, let go of the leash. Attack me, try and rip me apart limb from limb. Come on, I haven't got all day, attack!"

And you know what, he did just that. He began to play a small pattern on his guitar, the noise a little blurry. But it was just the intro, meant to build up for the real thing.

(If possible, start playing the Metallica song Some Kind of Monster)

Raven dashed off to the side, amazed by this display. He was giving off more power than when he was being controlled by Mael! And that was saying something!

"That's right... Brake me with your anger..." Mael encouraged darkly.

At that moment the air around Rocker burst into flames, which began to streak towards the smirking demon. The flames illuminated his face as they neared, and he didn't even try to dodge. The only movement was his face braking into an insane grin.

The demon flew back, gasping. He hadn't expected it to hurt that much, but when the flames died down and he slid across the ground to a stop, the insane grin found itself plastered back on his face.

"You call that an attack?"

Paying no mind, the guitarist merely continued playing. The fire was gone now, seeing as it had no apparent effect.

Speaking of the flames, that was a cool little trick Einderan had informed him of that bards could do. He was his own walking pyrotechnics show. Nice.

Mael's smile dropped a bit when his opponent went into another part of the song. Each note sent out a blast that felt like a two ton weight being slammed into the demon's body. Which granted, that didn't do much actual damage, but a two ton weight still hurts!

His head jerked back and forth. Rocker mused that the demon resembled an exceptionally tough punching bag.

The energy flowed with the sound, this time picking up the slightly injured demon and slamming him into the ground at intervals with the song. The deep sounds roared off the guitar, creating notes, rifts, patterns, and ultimately making what amounted to be a hard rock funeral song for the demon soldier.

Slammed, beaten, tossed, thrown, crushed, he made Raven's pummelings of Slade look like schoolyard scuffles. Yet Mael seemed almost no worse for wear because of it, which disturbed the sorceress. Even Slade had to reform his body, but it was almost as if Mael's just wasn't being hurt.

With a final series of high pitched notes, Rocker raised the demon high in the air, and with a flourish the song ended. Needless to say, Mael hit the ground hard.

The guitarist popped his neck and fingers, then played/said, "_There, I feel better. Teach you to go around giving possessed guitars to people._"

"You think you've beaten me?"

Mael pushed himself off the ground, back on his feet in a flash. Rocker gawked. How the?

"I don't get it, Slade wouldn't have gotten up from that!" Raven exclaimed.

"Ah yes, that reminds me, where is that one eyed idiot? I haven't seen him since that good-for-nothing dragon started fighting Einderan."

MEANWHILE...

Robin kicked the remains of armor that he had been fighting. Whatever those things were, they seemed to have been killed when Malchior was defeated. It was a relief, considering they were tenacious and refused to stay down for all intents and purposes. Beast Boy staggered over, and emmediately caught Robin's eye.

There was a huge gash going down the chest of his uniform, with blood coming out. Small cuts covered his face, and some medium sized ones were scattered across his arms and legs.

"Beast Boy? What happened to you?"

"Whatever those things were, they had it in to me. Walked right by Cyborg and attacked me. I don't think they liked me."

"Not surprising, they were being controlled by Malchior."

"What does that have to do with anything and how do you know that?"

"I know because they died when Malchior got hit with whatever that was, and it matters because if you remember you and Raven started getting close after that." Robin grinned bitterly, "Maybe he got jealous."

"Nah man, it'd take a heart to be jealous." Beast Boy mumbled wincing as he took another step, "I dunno, maybe they just didn't like the color green..."

"Oh ya, where is Cyborg?"

"He's with Star and some of those magic guys. I guess it's over. I mean, unless Raven's dad pops out of a portal somewhere and literally starts raising Hell I don't know of anything else that could happen."

"I could happen." A cool, smooth voice said from the shadows.

Robin whirled, staff drawn, and Beast Boy went into a fighting stance despite his injuries.

"Slade!"

"You know Robin, whenever we meet, you always either yell my name angrily or say it through gritted teeth. Have you noticed?"

For some reason as the super-villain demon henchman stepped out of the shadows, Robin got the feeling that under the mask he was smirking.

"Where is Mael Kirheinse?" Robin asked.

"Oh Robin, do you tire of my presence that easily? I'm hurt. But if you must know he is with Raven and the guitar player."

"Rocker?" Both of the teen heroes exclaimed at the same time.

"Yes, I believe that was his name. Mael was blabbering on about him being a bard or some sort of dead race of sorcerers... But back to the matter at hand. In about three seconds you are going to yell something, then lunge at me with your staff. I will dodge to the right, grabbed the staff, brake it over my knee, and then you will begin to try and beat me in hand to hand. You will also fail miserably. Your green friend will attempt to help, but he barely ranks as a distraction when at full strength, and with his injuries he might as well not be there at all. Then I predict that Cyborg will probably return in the nick of time to try and ambush me, along with Starfire and perhaps some of the sorcerers that have been helping you lately. By then I will be outnumbered to the point where I will be forced to retreat, and will leave you with some infuriatingly cryptic yet still insulting remark to ponder."

Robin gritted his teeth. No wonder he had never been able to beat Slade, the guy had everything down pretty good, "And what if I do something else?"

"Replace me braking the staff with either dodging to the right, catching whatever you throw at me and throwing it back, then add in the staff afterwards. Let's face it Robin, you are not that complicated an opponent. I was going to change that, but you threw my offer in my face. So, now you are facing an opponent superior in speed, strength, skill, powers, endurance, stamina, agility, and the only reason that you are still alive is that someone else has come to save you. But that's always been the way hasn't it, _Richard_?"

Robin froze, eyes widening behind the mask. Beast Boy glanced over at Robin, who was still as a statue.

"How do you?"

"Come now Robin, do not take me as a fool. I've known who you are from the start. I thought about blackmailing you with it once, but that seemed pointless and tacky. After all, what would that sound like? Become my apprentice or I'll tell the world who you really are? Of course, in retrospect, it probably would've worked."

Suddenly a green orb of energy hit Slade in the head, knocking him to the ground. Starfire descended, eyes glowing, while Cyborg ran up changing his arm into a cannon. And sure enough, some sorcerers were accompanying them.

"Predictable. So predictable. Well, it seems we were too busy for the fight Robin, but I will leave you with this. The future is just as predictable as you are, this world will end. I will make sure of it."

Then, before any of them could react, he was gone through one of his fiery portals.

Beast Boy looked at where Slade had dissapeared, then looked back to Robin, "Dude, your name is Richard?"

"...Yes. Don't ask me about it. Don't pursue the matter further. Drop it right now."

"Alright, alright, I get it."

Cyborg walked up, "You guys alright?"

Beast Boy suddenly flinched, remembering his pain, "DUDE! Do I look alright to you!"

"Man, they really did a number on you after I left didn't they? Hey, one of you guys help him." Cyborg said, motioning to the spellcasters. One nodded and floated over to heal the changeling.

"So Robin, what now?"

"Please, I suggest we find Friends Raven and Einderan." Starfire said.

Robin nodded, "Star's right. Come on team, we'll regroup then figure out a plan of action from there."

Beast Boy got up, thanking the sorcerer who merely nodded, "Alright, but our communicators aren't working remember? How do you propose we find them?"

Robin smirked. Indeed, the magical energy (Come on, demons, half demons, dragons, sorcerers and who knows what else running around the city? You get power pent up in the air.) Was blocking their transmissions. However, he had another way, "Slade said Rocker was with Raven."

"So..."

Robin listened, then pointed, "We follow the music."

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Alright, it's late. I'm stopping now.

Next time. Showdown.

Raven will sing in the next chapter.

And... other stuff.

Did I mention it's late? Er, early?

Anyway, this story will be wrapping up soon. So...

God bless.

Professor Curly-


	13. Showdown

1Chapter Thirteen: Showdown

Einderan's eyes opened slowly, though even when the heavy lids managed to lift from their positions, he didn't see anything. Just a dark blur with a darker blur around it.

A noise echoed around in his head, vague and ununderstandable. So far away, he didn't really care. He tried to say go away, but barely managed a groan that sounded a little negative.

Frista looked over to Kians, who was kneeled down on the other side of their leader, "Well?"

"Seems perfectly fine. I think that last little blast of his was too much for his body to handle though. Sleeping it off from the looks of it."

"Well, can you, wake him up?"

"You're the healing expert, you do it."

"That's not the same thing. You do it."

"I'm sorry, but I really don't know how. You should be able to sense it, his life force is draining itself to restore his magic. He's in about as deep a sleep as you can get. So unless you want to give him a bit of your life, he's not waking up any time soon." Kians told her, standing up.

"Um, is there anything you could try at least?"

The Mystellian thought a moment, then a wicked smile crossed his lips, "I think I do know a way, but if he gets mad you take the blame."

"Take the blame for what? Wait, what are you-"

She was cut off as the sorcerer reared back, and kicked Einderan in the stomach as hard as he could. The half-demon son of Trigon's eyes shot open, a gasp coming out of his mouth as the pain registered in his now-fully functioning brain. He rolled over on his side, bringing his exhausted body into the fetal position. He whimpered slightly.

"Well, there you go, he's awake. I don't know why that was so satisfying..."

"Kians, I'm going to kill you." Einderan mumbled threateningly.

"It was her idea."

"No it wasn't, I told you to wake him up, not kick him!"

"Hey, you weren't coming up with any ideas."

"Shut up, both of you." The older sorcerer said, trying to stand. Stand, heck he was trying to get to his knees. And failing miserably. He actually rose to the position once, only to fall when he tried to bring himself to full height. However, he had some measure of pride, and didn't ask for help. Not that it mattered, the look on his face asked for him, and the two helped him stand up and lean against a wall.

"What was that spell you cast? I've never seen such power from anyone but... Trigon."

Einderan mumbled, then realizing that he wasn't being understood said a bit clearer, "That's kind of the point. I let my emotions out... then pulled them back in... I had complete control, over all of my power, all of my emotions... Then it was just a matter of pouring that energy into a spell..."

"Y-you mean you've figured out a way to have complete control of your powers?" Frista asked, several pieces of rubble flying through the air behind them unnoticed.

The older sorcerer sighed and shook his head, "I'm sorry, not in the way you're hoping. It only works for a little while, and it's... hard to cast... dangerous as well. Believe me, if I couldn't silence my emotions as well as I can on my own, it would've ripped me apart. In fact, it still almost did..."

Frista nodded sullenly. She had been hoping to...

"The power... such a rush..." Einderan mumbled, eyes gazing off into space, then he looked back at them, "By the way, the dragon didn't get back up did he?"

"No."

"Good... Very good... Where's my sister?"

"Fighting Mael." Kians told him, then reconsidered, "Actually, watching that bard fight Mael. So far he's been doing well."

"Alright... Kians, the dragon has something on him... A white book... Find it and bring it to me... I wish to read it later..."

"Right." Kians said, turning to complete his orders.

"Frista..."

"Yes sir?"

"Can you teleport us to where Mael is?"

"Einderan, that may not be the best of ideas."

"If it's possible, then do it."

"In your condition you won't be able to defend yourself if he attacks!" Frista told him, shocked by his insistence.

"I know, but I have to see it... I have to see him finally lose... For the evil that he's done..."

"Sir..."

"Now Frista."

She looked into his eyes, and shuddered. This wasn't a request, it was an order. An order she couldn't refuse him, if his eyes said anything. With a sigh, she waved her hand and created a portal which she helped Einderan walk through, "I don't have enough power to take us the whole way there, we'll have to go some of it on foot."

"As long as we get there."

MEANWHILE...

Rocker watched in horror as Mael got up, again. His teeth gritted against each other angrily. Alright, nothing should be able to take that much punishment. There was a rule against it in the 'GREAT RULE BOOK OF HOW MUCH PUNISHMENT THINGS SHOULD BE ABLE TO TAKE'. In it, page three hundred and seventy nine, paragraph three, it clearly states:

'There is a point at which all things will drop dead in a pile of liquified goo, which will not get back up again. This point is usually after half an hour of constant beating that reduces the surrounding area into shambles, leaves the very ground cracked, as well as causes every living creature able to see the damage cringing at every blow, as just looking at the attacks makes them feel pain. Getting up after this point is not allowed.'

And yet, HE STILL GOT BACK UP! Darn it, it just wasn't right! Rocker's hands were actually starting to ache from playing! His-hands-were-starting-to-ache! He had been playing guitar his entire life, and his hands never hurt anymore!

"_Are you a... cockroach demon or something? I swear, if you don't stop getting up I'm going to so go "Slayer" on you!_"

Mael chuckled, "Frustrated yet?"

Gritting his teeth harder, the guitarist played/asked, "_Alright, at the risk of sounding cliche', WHY DON'T YOU DIE! I MEAN, YOU DON'T EVEN HAVE TO DIE! JUST STOP GETTING UP DARN IT! JUST STAY DOWN, BE KNOCKED OUT OR SOMETHING!_"

This time though, something was different. The power that Rocker was letting loose had before been enough to toss Mael around like a rag doll. But the demon just stood there, smirking as it just flowed over him harmlessly. He didn't even flinch.

"Fool."

Raven, a spectator on the side, realized what was happening. Bait and lure, "KIRK WATCH OUT!"

But it was too late. Suddenly a very hard demonic fist flew the few dozen meters that separated the combatants, and hit Rocker dead in the chest. The guitarist was suddenly sure that his entire rib cage had collapsed in on it self, and landed on his back, hard. Mael stood over his opponent, smirking.

"Did you really think that you were hurting me? Hmph, idiot, you can't hurt a demon."

Rocker's mind reeled, trying to process information while at the same time screaming HOLY CRAP THAT FRICKIN' HURT! Needless to say, his mind was not processing information at any determinable rate. Luckily, his breathing only hurt when he inhaled. Unluckily, that probably meant on of his ribs was poking his lung or something equally gruesome.

Alright, he would just lay there and sit the rest of this one out. That sounded like a really good idea. It sounded like the best idea he had ever had.

"Ah, did that hurt?"

Mael had other ideas though. The demon stomped on the defenseless guitarist, bringing forth another gasp of pain. Rocker tried to struggle, to crawl away, but his body wouldn't function. His brain was still sending the message of how much pain he was in, so his muscles refused to respond. So, he just lay there, paralyzed in the agony of it, unable to fight back at all.

"I'll probably see your soul in the after life. Until then." Mael told the helpless bard, charging up energy for a blast to finish the job. Kirk could feel the heat on his face, and clenched his body in anticipation.

Yet as soon as the blast fired, a black sheild rose up in front of it, preventing all damage that would've been done.

The demon soldier scowled, "You know, that's starting to annoy me. Every time I'm ready to kill someone something get's in the way..."

Mael kicked the guitarist for good measure, then walked towards Raven, who stopped projecting the sheild so she could fight more effectively. The evil glint in the demon's eyes was both disheartening and unnatural. Raven almost took a step back. Almost.

"Well, well, well, Princess Rasemune. We seem to be in this situation a lot you and I, me and you with no one else to interfere. This time though, I'm not going to settle for a few hairs. I'm going to take your whole head!"

He lunged, summoning up his sword and swinging it right level with Raven's neck. She managed to put up a black sheild with the wave of her hand though, before the attack could connect, and then shot a ball of energy that made Mael slide back a few feet.

However, he took it with a grin, and slowly walked back towards her, "Honestly Princess, you're friend over there laid waste to every single one of you until Einderan showed up. And I just took him down in the blink of an eye. What makes you think that you can win?"

"My brother is going to cast you back into the pit where you belong!" Raven yelled, lashing out with her powers and driving him back a few feet again.

And still the demon's smile didn't fade, "Oh will he? And where is dear Einderan? Hmmm? Don't you see, he may not be dead but we both can feel his life force is already weak, and is getting weaker by the second. Even if he is alive, he doesn't have near the strength to do anything at all to me. Your bard friend was foolish enough to believe that he could beat me into submission, and payed for it. So then, I believe that's your two top possibilities of doing anything to me. The Mystellians don't stand a chance, the Azarathians barely provide a challenge, and you dear Rasemune don't even rate on the same scale."

"Then what about us?"

Mael turned to see a silver staff flying for his head. Surprised, he didn't even stop it, and the blow connected with a sickening 'snap'. The demon went down, and Robin jumped away. Cyborg and Starfire formed up on the Boy Wonder's left, Beast Boy on his right. The four waited for anything to happen.

Something did indeed happen. With an equally sickening sound, Mael popped his bones back into place and stood, smirking, "Please, didn't we go through this already? Didn't I nearly kill you all?"

"Ya, but now we know what you are!" Cyborg told him, turning his arm into the sonic cannon.

"You are a being of evil, and will be stopped!" Starfire continued, eyes and hands glowing green as she hovered in the air.

"I don't care what you are, you're going down." Beast Boy finished, getting into a fighting stance.

"Titans, GO!"

Sonic energy roared, starbolts filled the air, exploding disks flew, and with a roar a long ancient reptile charged the demon. Mael dodged the sonic cannon, and deflected the starbolts and disks easily with both hand-to-hand blocks and well placed magical shields. As Tyrannosaurus Rex Beast Boy opened his massive mouth to take a chomp out of him, Mael caught one of Robin's explosives and tossed it. The force of it blowing up inside of Beast Boy's mouth was more than enough to knock him back and into human form.

Cyborg launched several small missiles from compartments on his shoulders, and while Mael was busy dealing with those, charged forward and leaped. The demon turned to see a very large half-metal form flying at him fist raised, poised to strike. As the half-robot's fist swung through the air though, a only slightly surprised Mael stepped to the side, causing Cyborg to miss entirely. His momentum continuing to carry him forward, he was suddenly in a very bad position with Mael to his right and a little behind.

The demon hit him in the back with a kick that used the forward momentum already present to send Cyborg flying headfirst into a stone wall. Starfire, angered, charged strait towards the evil sorcerer, ready to rip him apart. However, as her punch neared him, he reached behind himself without looking and grabbed onto her wrist, flipping over and putting her arm into a very painful hold that she was unable to get out of. Robin flanked the demon, attacking with another jumping overhead smash with his bo-staff.

Mael, using his free hand, grabbed a handful of Starfire's bright crimson hair and pulled her around quickly, putting the Tameranian between himself and Robin. The boy wonder gritted his teeth, only just able to redirect the strike to avoid hitting his friend. The demon then swung Starfire in a full circle, using her as a weapon against Robin. The impact of her body meeting his legs while he was in mid-air was enough to cause him to flip upside down, and she was sent crashing through several walls.

Grabbing the bo-staff, which had slipped from Robin's grasp, Mael smirked. The former student of Batman slowly turned in mid-air, until he was stomach up, back level to the ground. The demon lieutenant raised the staff high above his head with both hands, and drove the end of the staff right into Robin's stomach, sending him crashing into the ground gasping for air.

He struggled for a few moments more, then his body went limp. Mael chuckled and tossed the staff away carelessly, "Well, that was fun. Maybe I should do things without magic more often."

Raven blinked. It had happened so quickly, she hadn't even reacted. It was as if her body was frozen, she couldn't move at all. She could only watch in horror as Mael Kirheinse disposed of her friends in rapid succession with a sense of ease and grace that out did even Slade. Even as he turned back towards her, she couldn't move.

"Once again, I defeat all of your friends and leave you and me. Except this time big brother isn't coming to save you. No one can save you now. Give up, who knows, maybe you'll live through this..."

The sorceress finally seemed to snap out of it, and got into a fighting position, replying angrily, "Shut up! You'll give up before I do."

"Oh? I recall your mother saying something similar to Trigon. Just before he killed her if I remember correctly."

"Azarath Metreone Zinthos!"

A huge rock lifted off the ground, and slammed down on top of Mael. However, the demon pushed it off, only to find more rocks flying to bury him further. He stood through the storm of bludgeoning objects, barely even feeling any of the impacts at all. Soon he was completely hidden from view. By rubble and debris.

Raven panted heavily, tired from the assault she had unleashed. Tired enough that when Mael burst from the pile unharmed, the force of it knocked her down.

As she was getting back up, he began to chuckle darkly, "I see I struck a nerve. I don't know why though."

"You aren't good enough to talk about my mother!"

Raven launched various objects at the demon again, but he advanced as if he didn't even care. Finally, when he was a few feet away, he made a backhand motion. Magical energy rushed towards the sorceress, and knocked her spinning through the air. Rolling along the ground, she finally came to a stop on her back, weak, dazed, and disoriented.

Suddenly, he was standing over her, smiling darkly. His red eyes glowed, and you could almost see his demented mind at work through them. He went down on one knee, and gently caressed Raven's face. His hand lightly made it's way down, from her temple, to her cheek, the side of her chin. Confusion spread across her face.

Then his hand went lower, and savagely tightened onto her neck.

She grabbed his arm, desperately trying to pull it off. However, his arm was like iron, his grip like a vice. He was going no where. Evil light danced in his eyes with demonic glee. She struggled, fought, but he wouldn't budge. She hit him, lashed out with what power she could, to no avail.

"You know, suffocation is my single favorite way to kill a person. I get to see the look in their eyes, on their face, as they realize their life is ending. I love the feel of their life exiting their body, to see the spark of their life slowly dim and then go out completely. The anger and determination, then the fear, and finally, the pleading. Slowly growing weaker, and weaker," He shuddered, still smiling, "To feel the warmth of a person's soul pass away under my hand, leaving nothing but cold nothingness... To see the glimmer in their eyes fade... To feel their struggles under my grip, trying to brake, free. Slowing and slowing, until they stop altogether."

Raven limply hit his arm with her own, blackness filling the edge of her vision. She could feel it. She could feel her body shutting down. Pain, then numbness, then not even that. Her lungs, her heart, her brain, were shutting down one small step at a time. She choked, sputtered, trying to get fresh air into her body, but the grip over her windpipe just tightened all the further. Everything seemed to get further and further away, she was falling. Falling, into the blackness that is death.

"Don't worry, I'll burn your body next to your brother's..."

Then she let go.

Mael laughed, growing in pitch with every passing second. It was wild, insane. He yelled between bursts, "YOU FAILED EINDERAN!"

However, then a roar the likes of which had never been heard before filled the air. It was shrill, yet powerful, full of anger and contempt. It filled the city, echoing back and forth, filling every heart with fear.

Mael included.

He didn't even have time to look up as something huge and powerful leapt on him, slamming, punching, kicking, slashing, biting, ripping, tearing, rending. And it was hurting. It was actually hurting. He could feel it, the rage and angst giving this new monster the strength to attack. And he could've killed Mael. Or at least gave it a run for the money.

But instead, it tossed the demon away, sending him flying several hundred meters over a few buildings before finally being stopped by one and falling to the street.

Part of the monster wanted to pursue, but it didn't. Something held it back, and it soon became apparent what.

Beast Boy changed back into a human kneeling over Raven in a panic, "Raven? Rae? Can you here me? Come on, wake up!"

He put two fingers to her neck. He didn't feel a pulse. Eyes widening, he shook his head, "No." then it became an angry thrashing, "No! YOU AREN'T GOING TO DIE!"

His animal instincts and human knowledge suddenly merged together into one, and he knew what he had to do. He prayed that it would work.

Beast Boy tilted her head back, opened her mouth, pinched her nose shut, and took a breath. He breathed into her, then got a breath and did it again. He listened, nothing. He put his hands on her chest, and pushed down several times. He listened, and breathed into her mouth twice more when there was no response. He alternated, two breaths, then pushing down on her chest a few times, then back.

Tears began to flow down the changeling's face. He knew that every second meant that she was less likely to come back. He knew that she was slipping further and further, right in front of him. Had he been too late? Was she really... The only thing that kept him from breaking down completely was the hope, that on the off chance, "Come on... Don't die..."

A cough. Then another. He stopped, his eyes brightening, "Ya, that's it. Come on, Raven, that's right!"

She sucked in a breath, and it felt like the air was literally bringing her body back to life. Which it was. Wondrous oxygen finally found itself back into her blood stream. She heard a voice, faint and vague, but... familiar.

Her eyes opened into slits, and she asked weakly, "Beast... Boy?"

"Ya, it's me. I'm right here."

"What... happened?"

"That guy was choking you. So when I came to, I saw him, and I attacked. I threw him somewhere, but then I checked you. You weren't breathing, and your heart wasn't beating. So I uh, started giving you CPR, and... You woke up."

"Y-you?" She began, the drifted off.

"What?"

"You drove him off? How?"

"I don't know really... I transformed into that Beast, and... then I saw you..."

Tears glistened in her eyes, "You really do care..."

"Ya, I do."

She sighed, closing her eyes, then a thought struck her, "Wait... since when do you know CPR?"

Beast Boy chuckled, "Hey, not even I can zone out everything Robin says during our training sessions."

Raven smiled weakly, "Idiot..."

A loud roar of anger brought them back to reality. They looked over, and a figure descended from the sky, landing near the two.

Mael glared with pure and utter loathing at... everything. His cloak was in tatters, and there were large claw marks on his face and all over his body. Black blood trickled from the wounds.

Then he saw Raven. He stared at her in shock. She stared back in horror.

"No... It's not possible... I saw you, felt you die! Your life force was gone! You can't be alive!"

Beast Boy quickly positioned himself between the demon and Raven, "Run, get the others, I'll keep him busy!"

"Out of the way boy!" Mael screamed at him, tossing the green changling to the side with his magic, and advancing on Raven.

Mael staggered forward a bit as a large green lion clawed and bit him from behind. But other than that, the demon shrugged it off as an inconvenience.

"Kier Niet Tal."

Beast Boy changed back into a human and was flung into a far building. He crashed through the glass on the bottom floor and careened through everything in his path until he finally came to a stop on the floor.

Mael turned back to Raven, and glared. Glared, but smiled at the same time, "There will be no mistakes this time. I don't care who or what you are, you can't regenerate a pile of ashes!"

The sorceress backed away slowly, looking around for help. She saw no one.

Raising his hands, the demon muttered an incantation in a low voice. Fire shot from his shot from his palms, two comets of red flame that spiraled and turned around in the air. Mael directed, and they began to circle Raven, around her, over her, sometimes grazing just over her skin, close enough for the heat to become apparent but not close enough to burn. Finally, they wrapped around her like fiery pythons, preventing any sort of escape.

"I never miss twice Princess. Good bye."

The two fireballs rose into the air, doing a wide arcing loop, then rocketed back down. Raven quickly formed a sheild to protect herself, but knew that it wouldn't stop the attack, if it even phased it.

A blue beam came from no where, hitting Mael dead on and knocking his concentration off. The fireballs faded into nothingness feet from where Raven lay.

"Watch it devil boy, play with fire, and you're gonna get burned!"

Cyborg leapt into the air, firing two small missiles from his shoulders. They streaked towards Mael, who clearly perturbed by this interruption, made to catch them. One approached, and he raised his hand to grab it, then...

It exploded, sending out a liquid that was set alight as soon as hit the air. Mael jumped back to avoid the intense fireball, surprised by this sudden occurrence.

The second missile hit him right in the face.

"Ya, how that napalm taste!"

Raven took a few deep breaths, getting everything in her head back under control for the moment, and stood up ready to fight, "It's not over yet."

Cyborg ran up beside her, and immediately lifted her chin up a little, eyes widening, "What happened to your neck? It looks like your skin is just naturally purple."

She pushed him off, "Later, right now we have bigger things to worry about."

"Right. Any ideas for how to beat this guy?"

Raven thought, then shook her head, "I honestly haven't the faintest idea. Beast Boy managed to do some damage, but that was minor, and for all of Kirk's work Mael didn't have a scratch. I don't know of any spells to seal demons."

"Where are the sorcerers and stuff?"

"I don't know, probably helping out the injured or dealing with some cataclysmic problem we haven't heard about yet."

"Well then, it looks like we're just going to have to do this the old fashioned way aren't we?" Cyborg told her with a grin, turning his hand into the sonic cannon.

"What choice do we have?"

"YOU COULD BOTH DIE!"

The two titans whirled back to Mael, and the sight made their blood run cold. He stood in the flames, eye blazing, his clothes on fire, the flames licking at his skin but leaving no marks.

He could've had 'demon' tattooed on his forehead and it wouldn't have been any more obvious. Cyborg and Raven immediately readied their various attacks. Mael walked out of the fire calmly, his clothing ablaze, yet not really burning.

"I'm going to kill you. No, I'm going to slaughter you. I'm going to skin you alive and rip your organs out one at a time. And when your body goes numb and you can't feel the pain any more, I'll end your pathetic life and put your head on a spike."

Mael was directing this at Raven, who took a step back without realizing. Because no matter how she tried to hide it, she was afraid. Afraid of the demon that advanced on her with slow, measured steps.

Cyborg stepped a little in front of the sorceress, and said in a strong, even tone, "You'll have to get through me first."

The demon chuckled, "You still don't get it. Allow me to demonstrate why you can't beat me."

Just as he was about to charge forward with his shadowy magic blade though, two solid emerald beams collided with his chest, knocking him off balance. Starfire augmented her eye beams with a hail of starbolts from her hands, which impacted the demon in various places, driving him back.

"Separate we may not be able to defeat you, but together we can not be beaten!" Starfire told him, preparing for another assault.

Robin stood up slowly, still wincing from the pain in his stomach, "Starfire's, right, as long as we are fighting as a team, nothing can stop us. Demon or otherwise."

"Wonderful, now I get to kill you at the same time. This should be fun."

"Don't bet on it pal."

Mael turned to see Beast Boy stagger out of the store, pulling a large piece of glass from his shoulder. The demon looked at the one at a time, the determination on their faces.

It was hilarious.

As he laughed, he told them, "Look at you fools! You are so set on beating me! It's almost as if you think you will always win! Well let me tell you, you won't win this time."

"Haven't you heard? The good guys always win." Robin told him with a smirk.

"Hehehe, do any of you really believe that?"

"Yes."

"Indeed."

"Yep."

"Uh-huh."

"I do."

Mael sighed, "Oh the stupidity is starting to make my head hurt! I can't take this any more! Rasemune is going to die, you are all going to die, and there is nothing you can do to stop it!"

"Titans, GO!"

Explosive disks, sonic energy, starbolts, pieces of rubble, it all filled the air, flying towards the demon. He jumped to the side quickly, avoiding the attacks, and sent a black sphere at Starfire. She couldn't dodge in time, and was knocked into a deep state of unconsciousness.

"Starfir-"

Robin was silenced by a rather hard punch to the jaw, jerking his head sideways and knocking him out cold almost instantly. Cyborg aimed his sonic cannon, but at a wave from the demon something inside his robotic body shut off, causing the rest of him to follow suite. He fell over in a heap.

Beast Boy leapt at Mael, changing into the Beast, but before he could the demon caught him with his magic, and tossed the green changling headfirst into a building several blocks away. Raven chanted her magic words, and lifted a pair of cars which were sent hurling towards the soldier of darkness. Mael knocked one aside, and stopped the other in mid air. He sighed in boredom.

"Child's play. But play time is over. I don't know how you came back from the dead Princess, but it doesn't matter now."

Then a sound that Mael thought he would never hear again pierced the air. Invisible energy streaked across the ground, catching him off guard, off balance, and knocked him a few dozen yards away.

Rocker stood up, shaking badly. Pain criss-crossed his body, mostly his chest, but he wasn't going down that easy. Nu-uh you want him to stay down you make sure his head is off of his shoulders.

"Kirk! Are you alright?"

"_No, I'm not. My rib cage just got busted in by a sadistic demon pyromaniac! Now come on, you have to have something! Anything! Anything that can beat this guy!_"

She shook her head, "I don't know the spells good enough, and even if I did not only am I not strong enough, he's too strong."

"_What if he was weaker? Could you do anything then?_"

"Maybe... Yes, if he was a lot weaker I could seal him away. But how do you propose?"

"_Easy. I'm going to do the same thing as last time, only harder!_"

Mael glared at Rocker, "What is this? Why don't any of you just stay down and let me kill you in peace?"

"_Same to you demon-boy._"

The demon cursed. This wasn't going to be as easy as last time. It wasn't likely he was going to be able to do the same trick twice. And the bard in front of him, though injured, was still a force to be reckoned with.

Rocker grimaced, taking in a shuddery breath. He stared at the demon, who stared back. Neither moved for a span of about, two seconds.

Then Mael shot forward, his magic lashing out violently towards the guitarist. Rocker quickly struck deep rift, creating a barrier around himself while delivering a solid blow to his opponent as well. But it wasn't enough to stop the demon, who barreled on like a freight train. He raised his fist for a punch, his hand alight with red flames.

He let his fist fly, and Rocker hit a hard 'D'. The force of the two attacks met, and knocked both combatants back.

This did much more to hurt Rocker than Mael. The guitarist's breathing was pained, every breath sending new agonies throughout his body. His vision blurred, and he almost blacked out.

He got up through sheer, stubborn force of will. His legs were wobbly, but he did stand, and glared defiantly at Mael.

"Well, one more attack like that and you should be down for good. PIRON MATEAR LOGIAN!"

Blue-white flames shot from the demon's hands, hurtling towards Rocker. The bard quickly went into a shrill guitar solo, pouring everything he had into it. The fire crashed against an invisible wall, which Rocker was just barely able to hold.

He finished the solo, and then sent about the hardest attack he could towards the demon, almost sending him backwards. However, in all it just beat back the spell that Mael had cast. And the demon was grinning at his weakness.

It hit Rocker like a ton of bricks.

I'm not strong enough.

He looked at the sneering demon, so confident and self assured. But he had the right to be. Rocker did not have the strength to beat him. Not on his own.

Wait...

"_Raven..._"

"What?"

"_Lend me your singing voice for a minute._"

Raven blinked in shock, "W-what? But my singing doesn't have any power!"

Rocker smiled, "_Oh, it does. Anything done from the heart has power, be it singing, playing an instrument, if you put your soul into it, the power it holds is incredible. Your song gave me the strength to resist the demonic hold this idiot had over me. Just because you can't channel it's power, doesn't mean it's not there. And besides, I can._"

Raven looked at Rocker, then Mael, the a smile crept across her face, "This is like that show Cyborg watches, Robotech, where they use pop music to weaken alien invaders. Alright, lets give it a shot."

Rocker nodded, then took a deep breath, despite the pain. He closed his eyes, and started nodding his head to a beat. The tune started out simple, a little melody. However, then the song started getting faster, and more complicated. Quicker, and quicker, Rocker began to strum the chords, filling the air with high pitched shrills.

Raven smiled as she listened. She just let the words find themselves, as she was almost sure that there was never a song like this. It began to form itself in her mind, and when she had it Rocker lowered the volume of his playing to let her voice ring out.

"Good will triumph again,

Evil again will fall,

Strong though the evil is,

And the fighters of light small."

"Again this classic struggle,

Between dark and light,

No matter how strong our enemies,

We will win this fight."

"The sword of dark is subtle and strong,

Deception, suspicion, and pain.

Using lies and tricks to confuse,

And using the memories of innocents slain."

Rocker went into a deep, fast, hard rift at this. His eyes were closed, he was totally gone in the music. Nothing was distracting him.

Mael was shocked and in pain. The little brat was singing, and it was some how doubling Rocker's power! Doubling, no, tripling! The guitarist's energy was soaring, and Mael could attest to it. Wave after wave, blow after blow, not as physical as before, but with each passing second he could feel pain lacing around his body, and his energy was dropping steadily. His eyes were wide with fear.

"But here is good's greatest weapon,

A blade no lie can turn away,

Truth banishes deception,

Truth decimates the chaotic fray."

"Truth will defeat lies,

Evil will fall to good,

Those who walk the darkness will never win,

They never could."

"So back to the shadow with you,

I'm tired of your twisted game,

You don't deserve to be here,

I banish you back from whence you came!"

The demon went down on his knees, holding his head. The music was echoing inside of his head. The song... The singing... She was redirecting the power... He was channeling the strength into energy, and she was sending it where it would hurt most. Not bodily harm, but mental harm. Mael's energy was depleting. And his body was aching from the pain of it.

Einderan, leaning heavily on Frista, finally made it, standing a safe distance away, watching with grim satisfaction.

Beast Boy, Starfire, Cyborg, and Robin were awake by now, brought back when they heard the song.

Rocker opened his eyes, bit his lip, and began to play. I mean, actually play. He started thinking about what he was doing, paying attention, using every trick, skill, and flashy move to enhance the power of the music. His forehead was beaded with perspiration.

"_NOW OR NEVER!_"

Raven nodded and held out her arms towards Mael, "Iliate Kianet Tiema! Iteraso Kileo Itaka Ieam! Keb et Semune!"

Silence. Nothing happened. Nothing...

Until white lights shot from her hands. The two columns of energy hit Mael, wrapping themselves around the demon. He screamed in pain and horror of what was happening. Struggling, lashing out.

Much to Raven's horror, he began to brake free. She made a mental decision, and then poured everything she had into sealing the demon away.

Mael felt the magic tightening around him, and even though he struggled, his powers had been drained too much for him to resist. He felt himself slowly fading away, and with one last breath yelled, "THIS ISN'T OVER EINDERAN!AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"

The light gathered itself into a sphere around the demon, then it exploded outwards. And all that remained of Mael Kirheinse was that haunting last scream.

Rocker staggered over to Raven. He looked at her questioningly.

She smiled and nodded weakly, "Yes, he's gone."

Many sorcerers and sorceresses came to investigate the light and explosion. They filed in slowly, as if unsure what was going to happen.

Einderan smiled, and walked unsteadily over to his sister without any assistance. Though it was hard, he managed to keep his balance.

"You did it... You just sealed your first demon sister."

"Great..."

However, the battle weary souls found one last thing disturbing their rest.

With a roar, Malchior the dread dragon, flew into the air. He was unsteady, and clumsy in his flight, but he was still alive. They all looked upwards in shocked horror.

"You should know better than to assume you know how to beat a dragon!"

Kians appeared that second, running with a white book in hand, "Alright, what do you propose we do about THAT?"

Einderan was still looking upwards in horror. Then he sensed it. The dragon sounded threatening... But the only reason that he was able to fly was he was a dragon. And that was about all it could do. Einderan had beat it. The half-demon looked to the book, then back up to the dragon a grin across his face.

Taking the book, he handed it to Raven, "Do the honors?"

She took the book and grinned, "Gladly. I'm not strong enough to do the spell though. I need some..."

Kians put a hand on her shoulder, and she nodded. She opened the book skywards, and then began to cast the curse.

Malchior's eyes widened, his claws going to where the book was. They must have taken it when he had been unconscious! He began to fly away, fleeing fate in the book. But it was no use. Energy poured from Kians into Raven, from Raven to the book, and from the book to Malchior, pulling the dragon back.

With a final roar, the dread dragon sorcerer was locked once again in the book that he had resided for the last millennia.

Rocker chose that moment to collapse from wounds and exhaustion. Raven fell soon after that, falling onto her brother, causing both to fall to the ground.

And finally, the weary souls could rest without fear.

123456789123456789123456789

Hehehehehe... Am I good or what?

I debated ending the chapter when Raven 'died', but then I realized how evil that would be-

Mael: I wouldn't do something THAT evil.

Me: That's why I didn't idiot.

Mael: Oh.

Anyway, ya. There is one more chapter of this story. Just one. Review people! I need to know how I did! And remember, there's only one chapter after this one!

God Bless,

-Professor Curly-


	14. An Ending of Goodbyes

1Chapter Fourteen: An End of Goodbyes

Raven sighed in contentment. It was over. It was finally over.

Well, not really over. Trigon was still going to try and take over the mortal world, and Slade was still out there somewhere. The clever little snake had slithered his way past two dozen spellcasters.

That's why during the fight there hadn't been any help from Einderan's people. Some were pursuing Slade, many were healing the wounded and injured, and the rest were, well, the wounded and injured. Only when Raven had sealed the demon away did anyone come to investigate. Not that it mattered. Mael was somewhere else, and wasn't coming back any time soon.

The same could be said for Malchior, though somewhat different. He was now buried twenty feet under Titans Tower in a three foot thick steel case that had almost every enchantment known to man to ward off anyone trying to free him again. That had been a near thing.

What Mael lacked in sheer power (Which wasn't much), he made up for, more like augmented really, with cunning. Einderan had said, if the demon wasn't so ambitious, he would've been a general of Trigon's legions. But in the end that lust for power was exactly what kept him from attaining it.

Ironic.

The sorceress pushed these thoughts from her mind forcefully. For once in her life she was trying not to think depressing thoughts. It had been two days since the fight, during which she was asleep most of it, and she knew that her sorcerer friends would leave soon. She wanted to be happy while she still could be. Because when Einderan and the others left...

"Hey Raven. Whatcha' doing up here all alone?"

Raven opened her eyes and looked out at the sunset. It really was a breath taking view, the best in the city really. Considering Titan's Tower was ten stories high and situated pretty far out in the Jump City Bay.

Then she turned to a certain green changeling that had come up to join her, "I'm up here all the time by myself."

"Oh, ya... Well what are you doing anyway?"

"Thinking and watching the sunset. Why?"

"I dunno. Can I join you? Cyborg is... eating... and Starfire is making one of her... things... again... And I'm not brave enough to stop her... Last time the thing she made ate me..."

Raven chuckled, remembering. It was true. She had made one of the most ungodly concoctions ever known to man, and the radiation from the Zorka Berries she used brought it to life. She when she gave it to Beast Boy for dinner... It had Beast Boy for dinner...

"Hey! It's not funny! That thing tasted worse than Plasmas!"

Raven giggled more at this. Sometimes Beast Boy COULD be funny... On occasion... About once every month or so...

Beast Boy laughed with her, then sighed and turned to leave, "Oh well. If I'm going to get eaten by some alien gourmet dinner I might as well face it like a man."

"Wait."

The changeling stopped, a little surprised, "What is it?"

Raven turned around and got off the ledge she had been sitting on. She took a breath, then said, "I... Just wanted to thank you."

"For what?"

"Helping me win when my anger got out of control, saving me when you and Adonis turned into those... things, for attacking Mael when he first arrived, sticking up for me when the others started harassing me about who I am, for bringing me back when Mael choked me... Thanks for simply caring..."

Beast Boy blinked. Raven was thanking him. RAVEN was THANKING, HIM.

"You always try to get me to smile, to get me to laugh... Thank you."

"Raven...", He was at a loss for words. He didn't know what to say. Something in him wanted to say something funny and carefree. But then he realized that Raven was actually opening up slightly, and didn't want to ruin it with one of his, which he admitted, horrible jokes.

"Hmmm?"

"You don't have to thank me for any of that. I would do it all again. That's what friends do ya know? I mean, we're there to depend on each other so that if we fall the others can catch them..."

This time it was Raven who was speechless. Beast Boy had said something deep and intellectual. Raven began to look around quickly.

"What is it?"

"Is the portal opening? Is the world ending? Beast Boy, you sounded smart for a second!"

"I sounded smart? Really? Alright I sounded-HEY!"

Raven chuckled again. Beast Boy couldn't help it and laughed with her. She turned back to watch the sun fade the rest of the way below the horizon. Beast Boy walked up beside her, also enjoying the sight. It really was, quite a view.

"Hey Raven..."

"Ya?"

"When this is over, I mean, REALLY over, like after you kick your father's butt and all that stuff... Maybe you'd like to go see a movie or something?"

Raven stopped. She wasn't even breathing for a second.

"Whoa, whoa, hold on, I-"

"I'd like that Beast Boy. Does this mean you don't think I'm 'creepy' anymore?"

"Well... Raven your room is decorated with things that look suspiciously like heads, most of the books you have try to kill you when you open them, so..."

Her face dropped considerably. At this, a figure in the shadows tightened it's fists, and gritted it's teeth.

"But then, my room... I have discovered ten new species of fungus growing under my bed, and twenty new kinds of insects. And I'm not sure but am almost positive there is a giant gerbil living in one of my piles of clothes. Go into my room at night and it's pretty creepy to. I guess it just depends on what you define as 'creepy'. I'm short and green with pointy ears and fangs. I'm sure that qualifies as creepy in someone's book..." Then he caught the look of shock on her face. Man, was it that surprising that he could be intelligent every once in a while? Dude... "Oh, and I'm not kidding about the gerbil part."

She laughed and shook her head.

Beast Boy blinked, "What, you think I'm kidding? I'm dead serious, there is a giant, evil gerbil living amongst the piles of clothes in my room!"

And then it hit Raven that indeed, this was possible. Consider:

It was Beast Boy's room.

Food was readily available.

It would be easy to hide.

Holy crap, Beast Boy wasn't giving off any vibes to say he was kidding.

She grimaced, and then began to walk towards the door back down into the tower, "Um... We have to tell Robin... I mean... That could be bad..."

The two walked downstairs, their voices fading until they could no longer be heard.

Einderan stepped from the shadow's, smirking. He chuckled, "I'm glad Raven's happy... But if that little..."

The sorcerer teleported back down into the tower, a wicked grin across his face...

THREE DAYS LATER

The Titans stood just outside of Jump City, watching as the refugees and soldiers prepared to leave. They were almost ready. In fact, they were basically just waiting for the order to go.

Einderan sighed. It had passed so quickly. The fighting stopped, and then he had to start getting ready to leave. And when moving with thousands of people, that took a while. He and Raven really hadn't had any 'family time' to speak of. And it kind of hurt somewhere deep down.

Speaking of hurting, he cringed as he saw Frista make her goodbyes. Starfire currently was crushing her, and the young sorceress's face was blue.

Einderan motioned to Kians, and walked to say his own final goodbyes. Frista limped the other direction, breathing heavily and grasping her side.

He shook hands with Robin, "Thank you for everything you have done."

"Not a problem. You saved the city from being destroyed by a dragon, I think we can call it even."

Einderan nodded and moved to the next titan, Starfire. The poor Tameranian was already crying, and seemed to be ready to gush forth a flood of tears to drown them all.

"Starfire-"

His bones started cracking as the alien embraced him, "I will miss you all my newest friends!"

"Miss, you, to, about, to, die..."

She let go and dropped Einderan to his knees, gasping. She smiled uncertainly.

"When I come back, how about you not do that?"

"Agreed..."

He stood up, popping his spine back into place, and stepped in front of Cyborg, shaking the half-robot's hand firmly, "Don't worry, we'll take care of Raven for ya."

"If you do I'll be in your debt even more than I already am."

Then he came to Beast Boy. He smiled knowingly and shook the changeling's hand without a word.

And finally Raven, who looked on the verge of tears.

"Sister..."

"Brother..."

They embraced each other, then Raven told him, "Come back soon."

"As soon as we can. You know that we won't be back until... after it happens, but we will come soon. Farewell everyone. We are off to wander until we find a planet to hide out on..."

Suddenly Starfire's eyes lit up with an idea, "My home world of Tameran! My knorfka Galfor is emperor, and he will provide much support for enemies of the demon Trigon! And it is such a wondrous and beautiful and-"

"Thank you Starfire, I believe we will go there. We have few other options really. Besides, if everyone is as strong as you we may pick up a few more warriors while we're there... Good bye."

With that, Einderan turned and started walking away. Everyone was sad to see him go, but they all knew it was for the best.

Then the sorcerer realized something, and turned around, "Oh yes, you, can you come here for a moment?"

Beast Boy pointed at himself, and Einderan nodded. He looked around at the others and walked forward uncertainly.

The sorcerer put an arm around the changeling's shoulder and lead him away out of earshot, "My sister is a good person isn't she?"

"Um... ya?"

"I love my sister, you know this?"

"Uh-huh."

"Good. Now, if she is happy, I don't care. But I've read the signs off you, and I'll warn you now. If you ever, in any way, shape, or form, hurt my sister... If you so much as think about doing something that will brake her heart... I'll come back, and... castrate you."

Beast Boy gulped.

"After that I will commence to pull out every one of your major organs, starting by dragging your spleen out through your mouth. I will take what's left of you, and rip that into tiny shreds. And I will take the shreds, grind them into a powder, and through the powder into the deepest volcano I can find. And after that, I will hunt down your soul, and without hesitation, rip it in two. Now, I've never experienced this, and I don't think it would destroy you, but having one's soul cut in half can not be a good feeling. Are we clear?"

Beast Boy was frozen in terror, his face white, "Crystal."

Einderan crouched down to be eye level with him, "Are you sure? I don't want any confusion on this matter. Confusion could cause problems, and problems could cause... the deaths of any possible future children you ever hope to have. So, do you have any questions? Anything needing to be stated again in a manner simple enough for your brain to comprehend it? Anything at all?"

"No, I think I got it."

"Good. Remember you little half-pint, immature, happy-go-lucky, lazy, insignificant waste of power, if you so much as cause my sister a moment's pain, I'm coming back and you'll be nothing but a grass stain on a window in that tower that you live in. I don't have mercy, I don't have hesitation, any and all damage you do to my sister will be repaid a thousand times over, and a thousand times again, until the only part of your being still existing is the part able to feel pain. Did all of that get through your skull?"

Beast Boy nodded dumbly.

"Good. Well then, goodbye, and may God smile upon you." Einderan said in a cheery tone, patting Beast Boy on the back. The traumatized changling walked absently back to his friends, very pale.

"What'd he say?"

"Just some stuff..."

"Such as?"

The look on Beast Boy's face told Cyborg he didn't want to know. In fact, none of them wanted to know. It took an awful lot to make someone who's skin is naturally green go white with... probably fear.

Spellcasters, at a motion and a few words from Einderan, raised their hands and chanted an identical spell. A huge portal opened, and they started going through it. The older sorcerer watched, and waited.

Finally it was just Frista, Kians, and Einderan. The first two glanced at Einderan and went through the portal.

Einderan was about to go through as well, when a figure running towards him caught his attention.

Rocker, Kirk, stood hands on his knees, panting from running so fast. He had a large backpack, and a guitar case in his hands. Einderan looked him over, eyebrows raised.

"You want to come with us?"

The guitarist nodded, still panting.

"You're sure?"

Another nod.

"Alright, go on then."

With a smile, Kirk dashed through the portal. His portal away from his old life... and into a new one. And hopefully, a better one. One where he could learn to play without destroying the surrounding block. One where he could control his powers.

Or at least one that involved something other than a future behind bars. That was apart of it to. Besides, it just felt right. Kirk had a feeling in his gut, an instinct. It was the right thing to do. He smiled, and broke through the other side.

Einderan looked where the guitarist had passed through the portal, and smiled. They could always use more help. And with some training... Kirk would be a lot of help.

The sorcerer turned towards the Titans, and sighed. It was time to go. He turned and took a step towards the portal.

"Einderan!"

He only just managed to turn, before Raven had him in a hug that almost rivaled one of Starfire's. The dark sorceress had silent tears streaming down her face, and shook slightly.

"I'm scared."

"We're all scared of the future, because we don't know what will happen. Because we can't PREDICT it. Raven, the future is not set. Be strong now, for me, your friends, be strong for everyone that lives, has lived, or will live. And if you ever feel that you aren't strong enough, take heart in the knowledge that you aren't alone. You have friends, family... I feel so useless, I want to help you so..."

"We both know you can't."

"That doesn't change the fact that I want to. Raven, you have the strength. In you is the power to destroy Trigon. Or the power to spread his reign throughout the mortal realm. But the choice is yours."

Raven nodded, then took a step back. Einderan wasn't looking at her though. His eyes were distant, scanning the sky. He was looking at something, as if he were somewhere else, seeing a different thing. And from what his sister could tell, he just might've been.

"It won't be long now. I don't know how he will attack, and I can't say when, but it will be soon. Raven, you and your friends forget we were here. Just in case, don't give father any clues to help him track us down."

She nodded, "Right."

"Be strong Raven... He is coming. I can sense it. His anticipation, his thirst for blood, his power... It will come quickly. Be strong, be safe, and don't be afraid." Einderan snapped out of his trance, and then smiled down at his sister, "And don't be afraid to follow your heart. Until we meet again, Raven..."

MEANWHILE...

Archaic runes covered the chamber, glowing and burning. Slade kneeled in a circle of fire, before four eyes that looked out at him. He had thought of informing his master of the recent destruction of Mael Kirheinse, but this recent news had driven all other thoughts from his mind, and made the symbol on his forehead burn in anticipation.

"Slade. The time is now..."

END

And yes, this is the end. No more, no less.

Unless you review... and want a sequel perhaps? Maybe? But you have to tell me...

And the episode about Raven's destiny is here! It's today! I can't wait! Trigon is coming!

Let's kick some demon butt! BOYAA! CALL IN DANTE AND VAN HELLSING AND ROLL OUT THE HOLY WATER CAUSE WE GOIN' HUNTIN TONIGHT! YES!

If you're wondering why I ended it like that, it's because I wanted to tie this story in with the new episode as best I could. You know, trying to keep it in the story line.

And there, I gave Raven and Beast Boy a moment. Honestly, I think that they will get together in the show... Leaving Cyborg as the odd man out.

Now then, I want an opinion. I will write one of these fanfics next. Which do you want it to be?

A) My pen-name character comes to town, and causes all sorts of wacky crazy trouble?

B) A band of sports-themed supervillians come to Jump City, and more wacky crazy trouble.

C) A mercenary from another world and time is brought to Jump City by a spell gone wrong. Notes: Original Character: Curond Lon So, half-elf mercenary, and probably one of the baddest dudes you'd ever want to meet.

Alright, I'll probably end up writing all three of those anyway, so it doesn't matter. Allow me to thank my reviewers:

RavenKitten

MCLBLUE

Angel Caida

morgan000

Raven42431

longbca

belian7

Jordanals

Hilary Taber

Shekron Kaiser

Kittydragon

Midnightmare

Ghost of Darkness678

Thanks for all of your support! Hehehe...

Here's an idea for a fic if anyone wants one... Teen Titans/Kids Next Door crossover...

I AM PROFESSOR CURLY! THE SEMI-MAD SCIENTIST! I WILL BUILD A LASER TO DESTROY EVERYTHING BUT ME! AFTER I FIGURE OUT HOW TO SET THE CLOCK ON MY VCR AND MAKE THE NUMBERS STOP BLINKING! IF ANYONE CAN HELP ME WITH THAT IT WOULD BE GREATLY APPRECIATED, AND YOU WILL BE SPARED THE BEAM OF DOOM!

'Grumbles'

Fine, I'm just gonna tape a few laser pointers together to make the light brighter... sue me. I don't have a secret liar to build the laser at... Hence the 'semi' instead of just 'mad'. But really, how do you set the stupid VCR clock?

Ah, that was good fun. That's sort of a preview. If you want me to do the one with my Pen-Name guy in it, that's sort of what it'll be like. Good, clean, crazy fun.

God Bless you guys,

-Professor Curly-


End file.
